The Stardust of Remnant
by i4md347h
Summary: Starkiller, a powerful force user betrayed by his master Darth Vader, defeated his former master and fought against the Emperor. Yet, he ultimately sacrificed himself, becoming one with the force. However, an unknown force beckons his soul, calling him for purposes unknown. And when he answered it, he soon found himself in a world unlike any other, walking the path of a legend.
1. Prologue: A Star Reborn

The Death Star. A massive pale space station bearing the size and shape of the average moon with a large concave dish in its northern hemisphere, constituting its main weaponry, and under massive construction on a scale previously thought only possible by gods themselves.

The grand design of the station was, despite its harmless spherical appearance, to be the most powerful weapon ever made, to become an immortal symbol of fear for every last heart of sentient life in the galaxy. So powerful, that it can destroy even planets with one powerful superlaser, fueled and magnified countless fold by Kyber Crystals, the most precious gems in the galaxy.

Within the grand mighty space station, lies the Imperial Throne Room, the Observation Dome and private area of the Galactic Emperor. The presences within the dome were few, most of them watching a grand battle between two powerful individuals taking place but soon reaching its dramatic climax.

Sheev Palpatine, Emperor and Ruler of the Galaxy, stood in the center of the Observation Dome. He bore the visage of a disfigured old man, his deathly pale skin wrinkled with age and unnatural, dark degradation. Standing against him was Galen Marek, codenamed Starkiller, a young man wearing a light gray long sleeved hooded robe with a sleeveless dark brown leather wrapping around his forearms and torso, with a light blue lightsaber reverse gripped in his right hand.

Observing the conflict outside the dome were Senators Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Garm Bel Iblis, captured prisoners on the charge of treason. Alongside them was General Rahm Kota, Jedi Knight of the Fallen Republic, and now mentor of the warrior fighting against the Emperor.

The dark robed old man fired streams of violet lightning from his fingertips, but the other gracefully leaped right before swiftly closing the distance. The old man discharged more lightning, but he blocked the electricity via lightsaber and with a telekinetic shockwave, threw the old man off of his feet to midair. Before Palpatine dropped down, Galen closed in, and with a mighty thrust, blasted the Dark Lord of the Sith towards the dome's ceiling, his spine impacting the metal, with a powerful Force push before slamming him against the metal platform with telekinesis.

Afterwards, the pale old man turned over, his prone body revealing no signs of critical damage despite the abuse, and stared at the other, his sulfur eyes gazing into Galen's blue.

"You are destined to destroy me." The man stated with a voice old but with dark malicious energy, as the other only stared down at his prone form with eyes slowly burning with spite.

"Do it. Give in to your hatred."

After elder's taunt reached his ears, stoking his spite, Galen tightened his grip on his lightsaber ready to kill the Sith; before another hand was placed on his shoulder.

"He's beaten. Let it go…" Kota advised, wary of the dangers before him. Galen shook his head, his mind addled with killing intent.

"It's a trick! He's stronger than you know, and he deserves to die for what he did to me…" Galen rebuked with a dark threatening tone directed at the prone Sith.

"Maybe so…but if you strike him down in anger, you'll be right back to where you began." Kota argued back, not wanting Galen to return to being a slave of the dark side of the force.

Galen's eyes slowly closed, his breathing steadily calming as he felt his heartbeat echo in his ears from the tension…before exhaling his anger out in one last breath and extinguishing his lightsaber, deciding to spare the Emperor for now.

"Get Bail and the others out of here. I'll be right behind you." Galen said, wanting to stay and keep an eye on the Sith Lord. An advanced starship can be seen slowly descending through the glass windows allowing the view to the beauties of boundless space.

Seeing his dark temptation fail, Palpatine sprung to his feet and fired two streams of violet Force Lightning from his fingers at the old Jedi's back, refusing to let the Jedi have Galen on their side.

Galen quickly intercepted, blocking Palpatine's lightning with his hands and absorbed them with Tutaminis, the force art of energy absorption and redirection, but in doing so lit his nerves in searing pain, unlike anything he ever endured even under Vader. Absorbing Palpatine's lightning was akin to a star exploding in his body. While struggling in a deadlock, Galen turned his head to see the most famous Jedi Killer, Darth Vader, this time without his helmet, approaching them with a squadron of Stormtroopers entering the Observation Dome.

"Go! Hurry!" Galen shouted to the cuffed senators spectating from the sidelines, urging them to flee towards the ship.

"Protect the senators!" He shouted to Kota who rose back to his feet, and he nodded before taking off with the senators towards the docking bay.

Galen slowly inched closer with each pained step towards Palpatine while Stormtroopers ran past the battling force users to fire their blasters at Kota and the Senators. Seeing this, and how his hands are tied…Galen has no choice but to make the ultimate sacrifice, and give himself to the Force. His choice bestowed him with more power than he could ever achieve with the Dark Side, allowing Galen powered his way through Palpatine's force lightning and the growing pain.

"Noooooooooooooooooo!" Galen screamed with resolve as he grasped Palpatine's hands to block his lightning, and use the power he absorbed so far to set off a powerful radiant explosion so great, the blast radius even reached the Stormtroopers and launched them away, giving the others the chance to flee. Kota and the senators looked back, grimacing at the event, before resuming their efforts to flee the space station for their fallen friend.

After the explosion died, Galen's body was sprawled on the ground, his hand lifelessly laid on his chest and eyes closed as his soul left him. Vader walked to the epicenter of the explosion, seeing Starkiller's body on the ground. He gazing at his corpse while the emperor walked to Vader, seeing the body as well. The light from the nearest star shone upon Galen's body, painting a scene whereupon his noble sacrifice, the heaven called upon his soul to step into the light.

"He is dead." Vader said upon brief scrutiny of Galen's body.

"Yes, and he is now more powerful than ever." Palpatine replied with distaste in his tone, angry that a potential replacement of Darth Vader died and that the rebel leaders fled. Their conversation continued on with the two Sith lords preparing to hunt down the rebels, while the said rebels planned to start a revolution long overdue.

Meanwhile…

Galen's mind wandered through the void, drifting along with his spirit. He cannot see, he cannot hear, but through the Force, he can feel after it claimed him. His mind felt at peace, his soul slumbered undisturbed, yet…he felt drawn to an invisible force as if beckoning him. At first, he ignored it, but then the beckoning grew stronger, calling to him without end until he can no longer turn it away.

His spirit separated from the force and drifted across the colorless void towards the source as if he was a moth to a flame. After an unknown amount of time later, he finally arrived at the scene before his entire mind went white…then he felt a pulse of life coursing through his being.

"Push, push!"

Muffled cries reached the spirit's ears, before feeling an unseen force pushing him through a tunnel, his vision now blackened by darkness. Continuously hearing the repeated cries, followed by faint screams of a maiden in dire pain, he slowly opened his eyes only to close them back in a state of lethargy when overwhelming light attacked his vision.

Silence fell after as his consciousness drifted towards nothingness once again, tired for unknown reasons and so tired he cannot process his surroundings. Garbled cries of joy and other muffled voices reached his still dysfunctional ears, while his mind slowly went blank. Until Galen Marek finally slumbered deep within the mind of Jaune Arc.

 ***Hello, the author here. This is not my first time writing, but this is indeed the first time I wrote a fanfic. I always loved Starkiller, yet a number of fanfics regarding him are...less than adequate, so I decided to fix that by making one of my own. For those who read ahsoei's work One Punch DxD: Legacy, I was his co-writer on the later chapters. I decided to branch out and start writing my own. Also, for those who didn't read it, please go to him and do so if you're a One Punch Man fan. Please review my prologue fairly, and with constructive criticism. I might not be that well versed with the RWBY World as well as Star Wars, so any assistance will be appreciated, and I do not mind a co-writer as well. Thank you, and enjoy! :D**


	2. Chapter 1: New life, Conflicted Soul

Jaune Arc, son of Joana Arc and Jonathan Arc, was the only son amongst their eight children. During his birth, the two parents rejoiced with elation upon successfully delivering a healthy baby boy, but some years later the boy was …mentally unique. Jaune's childhood proceeded with a healthy start, tended with love by his family which he returned with equal affection. However, at the age of five, he started to receive…strange dreams. He started to see through the eyes of another man, another life. At first, they were brief, lasting only an hour before either switching to another dream or waking up in confusion without any memory of said dreams.

But later on, the dreams grew longer, clearer, more defined as time goes on. He dreams of a man wearing menacing armor as black as the starless night. His hand was raised towards another man levitating in the air with his hands clutching his throat, the dark man's fist clawed as if choking the other through powers unknown. This was the first time he felt the darkest of emotions at its strongest peak. Fear. Overwhelming fear…unlike anything he ever felt. The man clenched his black hand, followed by a loud snap as the other man fell to the floor lifeless. And when the dark man slowly approached him, Jaune woke up that night, similar to waking up from a nightmare. He soon forgot about the dream later on, which was fortunate for his mental health and returned to his needed slumber.

Next, he fought against…a bipedal robot who can change its form, each humanoid form holding a sword of light but held different fighting styles. And he was fighting against the droid using his own sword of light. He felt anger, belligerence, yet with a tinge of adrenaline and burning desire to prove himself.

Another dream was when he was sent to…fight against an old man, his eyes worn with age yet brimming with life. He battled against the man, defeated him after taking his eyes, and in the end, he fell down into…he does not know, yet it was on the tip of his tongue.

Each immersive dream grew more and more intense, teaching him experiences and emotions never before encountered. Jaune even started to recall some memories regarding the dreams at the age of seven, though the memories were not as intense as before. Bothered by the memories, Jaune once one of his sisters for a spar to answer some of the questions plaguing his mind. She was the eldest sister, walking the path of a Huntress to defend Remnant from the forces of Grimm. Jaune does not know much about hunters and huntresses yet, but he does know that she knew how to fight.

Each opponent armed with a wooden stick, the two started their friendly duel in their backyard. The purpose of the spar was to confirm the significance of the dreams, as they felt too real to be false, thus he decided to reenact the dreams where he fought with the sword of light. His sister, on the other hand, mistook Jaune's request as an interest to be a huntsman. and found it adorable, leading her to play along.

Until the boy demonstrated skills she never knew he had. It all started when the boy held the stick in a reverse grip in his right hand. At first, she thought he was mocking swordsmanship in general but then took back her accusation when Jaune manages to push her back.

His fighting stance was…too bizarre, yet his application with it was well executed. Using the strange reverse grip, Jaune blocked, parried, and deflected her swings to the side using his small size to his advantage. He was hard to hit and very agile as he nearly struck her legs more than once and almost knocked the stick out of her hands. He would even twirl his stick to a normal grip and offensively assault her with series of fast, consecutive swings aiming at her openings. Not only that, he can somehow anticipate her attacks as if he had some form of precognition, as she swore the boy's eyes were unfocused and inexperienced. Yet, he was able to pinpoint her weaknesses and used them to break her down, revealing his instinctive ingenuity and perceptive skill.

She concluded that either the boy's semblance was precognition, or…he was born with profound natural talent with the sword. However, in the end, she defeated him and lectured his weaknesses from the spar. She stated that it was incomplete, unrefined. That his stance was unbalanced, leaning too much on the offensive. Little did she know that Jaune was assaulted with flashes of visions during the spar, each vision relating to combat with various duelists and very unfamiliar with them. Jaune felt a…connection with this style and a disturbing familiarity with the form. Like it was a part of who he was, despite it being incomplete.

Afterwards, his eldest sister hugged him tight like a teddy bear, squealing with joy that she was proud of her little brother, which he replied with many complaints regarding the case of accidental suffocation. He also asked her to keep their spar a secret, though he had to pay an…critical price in return later on for her silence. The price he can tell will damage him in ways Vader could never inflict…

At the age of eight, the memories of the dreams finally came crashing down on him like a falling mountain, overwhelming him with a mind breaking truth. The truth that the dreams he saw were memories from another man...a man he was once was. Now, Jaune stood before a large mirror in one of his sisters' rooms. She was not in the house for now, and she does not mind his presence unless she was busy or needs it for more private activities like inviting her friends over for a sleepover.

Not minding his pink girly surroundings, he gazed upon himself, seeing the reflection of his face. He sees an androgynous face of a young boy with blond messy hair and blue eyes, not even the age of ten… a face he has so long yet so unfamiliar with the same time. Jaune was his name, yet he felt as if it belonged to another.

"...Why did the Force give me this life?" The blond boy muttered, with a mature tone contrasting what his age allowed. The boy closed his eyes, and when he reopened them he saw a grown man, his head shaved, his face chiseled and well defined, and his body lean, agile and strong without too much muscle. The man in the reflection wore tattered clothes. His hood white, covering his face while extending to the gray vest over his shoulders. Under it, was a loose, wrinkled dark brown tabard covering his upper torso. On his lower half were dark brown trousers and boots with ridged soles.

Gazing from the mirror was Galen Marek, aka, Starkiller. And gazing back at the mirror, was Jaune Arc, the son of a family of hunters. The two were gazing at each other, vying for any form of consensus on their identity despite the two being so…contradicting.

Galen Marek, a man who lived a dark life from childhood under one of the cruelest men in the galaxy, raised from the fires of pain and dark resolve only to live a life of redemption into the light.

Jaune Arc, a boy not even ten lived a life of color and love, free from the dark side or the Sith, and his personality meek yet lovable by his family.

The two were, in a way, complete opposites, now in one body and soul. They were two halves, two sides, yet they now belong to the same coin. The two sides of the coin continued staring at each other, wanting answers to their predicament. Jaune is now Galen Marek…yet in the same way Galen Marek is now Jaune, with Galen's memories and experience dwarfing Jaune's. Yet, it also led Jaune to cherish his family even more upon comparing his to Galen's life.

Still, in the end, it only flooded his mind with more questions than he could bear. Who was he now? Was he Galen Marek, the former apprentice of Darth Vader and friend of General Kota? Or was he Jaune Arc, beloved son of the Arc Family? If neither, the real question addled his mind. Who will he become now?

Jaune blinked once again, now seeing his own reflection in the mirror, and then walked away out of his sister's room. His steps lightly strode across the polished wooden planks, his posture cultivated to that of a skilled fighter. After shoving the questions deep into his mind for later on, he now must handle a serious problem he never thought of before…how to learn more of his world, Remnant, and practice his abilities without his family knowing? After completely reacquiring his memories, Jaune was now aware that his…change did not go unnoticed by his family, and he must ruminate how to blend back in to douse any possible suspicions regarding his condition.

However, unknown to him, he was being watched from afar…very afar, even in his own home. The watcher being his own mother…Joana Arc. Her only son had…changed. He was slowly growing distant with his family, his eyes filled with conflict. She can see that within his eyes, the eyes of one lost within life and addle with burdens.

She was using small cameras placed around the Arc Household, as the child had proven to be…very difficult to handle. Recently, her son had somehow gained a remarkable sixth sense somehow. There were signs of said sensor, ranging from telling her that her husband and sisters were home before they even entered the door to ask what was covering her body. As a retired huntress of the Arc Family, she still retained her senses and keen perception, able to sense that something was awry with him. She tried to spy on him on the premise that she was away, or when he walked out alone into the forest around their house, but she cannot get close to him. Whenever she enters the proper visual distance, Jaune stops and turned his head her way each and every time.

The boy was unnaturally perceptive, so aware of his surroundings it was terrifying. If it weren't for her training and honed instincts, she would've been discovered and confronted. She spoke about this to her family, and the result of the debate regarding Jaune was to let her investigate and bring up her discoveries, and if at least one of them was detrimental, then they will confront Jaune afterward.

She was scared that something happened to him, but further investigation only led to more confusion. There were only recordings of the boy wandering around the household in his spare time, and him sitting on a wooden stump sky gazing without any focus.

She was watching him with her scroll, a portable handheld device used by the common citizens of Remnant with this one capable of surveillance. Currently, she was in her room on the premise of sleep from a hard day's work, but in reality, spying on Jaune.

She watched as the boy stood in front of a mirror, muttering words so quiet the sound failed to reach the listening devices. She watched as Jaune looked up above the head of his reflection, his eyes affixed to something intangible to her eyes. Then she watched him exit his sister's room, walking slowly through the hall to his own room. She switched from camera to camera to keep visual on her son, as he entered the room and closed the wooden door.

'What's he doing…' Various thoughts raced through her mind, yet none of them lead to the answers she sought.

Jaune on the scroll sat on his bed cross-legged, and then…

'Is he... meditating?' She was confused. She was absolutely sure that her son was completely oblivious to the concept of meditation. He was sitting cross-legged, his hands cupped together on his stomach's center, and his eyes were closed as if in a trance. She cannot understand the causes which lead to his actions as she continued her observations.

Jaune on the other hand…

He was sifting through the Force, using his limited knowledge and experience regarding Jedi meditation. Last time he tried, it was to see the future as much as he can, and it succeeded. This time, he wants to augment his senses, using the force to better connect to his surroundings and understand the world around him.

Jaune's breath slowed to the point of near breathlessness, as he detached his senses from his bodily confinements. The last time he tried this, he was, for lack of a better term, swimming through the Force. Now, he is trying to see through it like a spyglass in an observatory…but what he discovered is something he never expected.

'I… what is this? That's not the Force…' Jaune started by feeling the flora outside him home, yet he cannot feel even a drop of force through them. Only…something else. It is similar to the force, yet foreign to him on a molecular level force wise.

He then tried to sift through himself, wanting to see if his current incarnation holds the same foreign life…which it did. Not only that, he can sense it was locked, contained by what he sensed was a 'door'. The force related energy within him was…vast. It can almost be compared to a small ocean in fact.

But that does not count the fact that he is probably the only force sensitive around. No matter how much he tried, he cannot find any signs of force based life, which makes it even stranger and stranger as he can feel the force around him in the air. The Force is all around him, yet these life forms held not a trace of it.

'What in the name of all things sane. How in the world are they alive without the force? Is that even possible? ...Know what, screw it.' Jaune thought with the dialogue of Galen's. The world he is in defies everything he knows, flooding his mind with even more questions to answer. Which he decided to deal with later.

For now, he turned his focus to the door within himself. He will start absolving his questions through the only way he knows, by intense training and experimentation. Beginning with his own self. He does not know what the door is, or why it was there, but he does not care as it is a form of life energy which means it is beneficial to his very being…assuming that it is, hopefully. He then carefully focused on the door and the contained energy, simultaneously calling out to the power while prying the door open using all the accumulated knowledge he has.

Feeling the grasp on the two, Jaune then tried to draw out it out of the door while pulling the door open with and every tug. The energy was difficult to connect due to it being a new experience, but the difficulty lessened with each and every try. The door also weakened with enough effort, as he started to feel the energy leaking out, making him smile in triumph.

Little did he know that doing so will leak it outside his body, visible for all to see via bright white radiant glow from his body.

Joana, still watching, almost jumped from her bed upon seeing her son unlocking his aura. Without any notable guidance or supervision.

The brilliance of her son's aura cast him in a cloak of the purest light as if he had bathed himself in the brightest star. It looked as though she were observing of an ethereal being encompassing her son in a protective shell of the purest white. As quickly as the brilliance of his aura arrived, it vanished like the fading of the brightest flame. After vanishing, an incredible form of pride swelled in Joana's chest. Her son, however, as distanced he may be from his family, had to have a pure soul in order for his aura to become such a beacon of light.

However, fear slowly crept into the deepest recesses of her mind. If others discover the overwhelming potential within her only son, any hope of a peaceful life would be taken from him. He would have no choice but to follow the will of others and become a hunter, a pawn in a game of men. She would have to be tactful with the approach she took to uncover her son's secrets, thus consulting with Ozpin on this was out of the question. While she trusted the wizard in the clockwork tower with her life, she felt as if Jaune would become nothing more than a new tool for him to use. Despite his high regard for human and Faunus life, she was aware of his tendency of…sending students into danger regardless. Meaning that in his critical duties, he somehow became detached with some of his humanity.

Maybe not Ozpin, but perhaps…

'Goodwitch maybe…' She can consult with her. She could indeed trust a friend she knew from her time at the academy, despite them being on different teams. She cares deeply for others and was rather strict for their safety. And if Ozpin discovers Jaune's potential, Glynda can at least vouch against Ozpin if she asked first. Quickly, Joana turned off the camera feed and searched her scrolls contact list, and found Glynda with little effort.

The sound of the dial ringing filled the room with a light echo, though the tension weighed down on her as if pounced by a falling Ursa. Had she thought this through? Had she considered her options? …who else could she turn to, what would her son think of her if he were to find out she was telling others about something that he wasn't even ready to share to his family? Once more the reverberating ring bounced off the walls as if it were a mocking mechanical cackle.

She took a deep breath. She was a huntress, one who should be able to deal with doubt … it's not like she were on a Bullhead since motion sickness was an insurmountable adversity compared with a simple call. She could do this. Then came the last ring followed by an audible click. It was show time.

The groggy voice of her old friend, the current assistant headmaster of Beacon, came through with an exasperated tone. "*Yawn* Joana? Why are you calling me at this hour? It's not assorted wine and cheese night is it, and please don't tell me Beignet is there…" Joana giggled at the thought of her old foppish lightish red-haired teammate. He and Glynda were regularly at odds. Joana gathered herself quickly, now assured she made the right choice. Even when exhausted, Glynda was always considerate of her.

"No, it's not. That's next week. I called to ask you about a more serious matter. Something I feel that you would be best suited to handle." she could practically hear her friend tense up at her tone.

"It's of utmost importance that you swear upon your life you won't inform Ozpin of what I'm going to tell you." A chilling pregnant pause filled the air before Glynda reluctantly agreed to her request. "It's about my son. You know he's been distancing himself from the family as of late, and I might have found part of the reason behind that. I was watching him through the cameras I installed in the house and you wouldn't believe what I saw." Once more Joanna stopped talking as if to build up the tension for the grand reveal. Glynda on the other hand, with a tone she commonly used with some of her more stubborn students, belted out "Out with it, woman. You're a huntress, not a television announcer. Tell me, already."

This was why she could always trust Glynda. she would push her whenever doubt would crawl into her mind "He unlocked his aura." Glynda's tone became flat. "Well…that's a very big moment for a parent and child but did you have to call me at this hour to tell me-"

"He did it by himself." Joana hushingly interrupted.

"He DID what?!" Glynda yelled.

"He did it himself. I didn't do it for him and I haven't been training him to do so." Her revelation left Glynda speechless. Unlocking one's own aura alone took years of grueling backbreaking training, and there was no record of anyone young capable of unlocking it alone unless taught…especially children.

"How is that possible? He's just a child!"

"I know, Glynda. I saw it through the cameras, and I still don't believe it." Joana replied with pained sympathy.

"That kind of talent is unprecedented! If you're not training him, then who is?"

"...I don't know. I've been monitoring him for over a year, and I cannot see how he could've been tutored under my nose." Joana sighed, unable to answer her friend's questions.

Glynda, feeling the emotional pain in her friend's voice, came up with a tenuous suggestion.

"I could see if I could call in a favor from that drunkard crow to see if he could either check on him or offer some training to ensure his safety and freedom. I am positive he will since he's grown a soft spot for kids when his nieces were born."

"Nieces? Oh, what are they like?" Joana asked wondering if she could introduce Jaune to them.

"Huhu, I'm sorry, but I never met them. But I could ask if he'll set up a play date to keep your son in good company."

Joana didn't know if she was ready to risk losing her special little boy to girls yet. He's too young, but if this will keep him safe and have him open to his family again, it would be a cross she would willingly bear. Plus it would help keep away any other girls who didn't meet her standard if they were anything like Raven. Even she could admit raven was a beauty whose strength was unquestionable.

"A play date sounds great! You're doing me a huge favor here thank you, thank you, thank you-!" she nearly yelled at the possibility of her problems being solved.

"Calm down, Joana. You are an adult, so please show some composure, or else you will set a bad example for your children." Said an exasperated Glynda.

Regaining control of her emotions, Joana quickly explained herself. "I'm sorry. It's just he's my little boy and I feel like I'm missing my chance to bond with him as a mother. This could be a chance to both keep my son safe and reconnect with him. I got over excited there for a second. I thank you for your help, and see you on wine and cheese night." Joana said before hearing a 'goodbye' from Glynda and turned off her phone. She smiled on her bed, knowing that Jaune will grow close to his family once again.

Jaune, on the other hand, was busy trying to comprehend what he just unleashed from his core. He opened the door hindering his…his…

'What do I even call this? Does this thing even have a name?' Jaune does not know. Even with the memories of 'Jaune' prior to Galen's resurfaced memories did not hold the answer. He was pretty sure there was a name for that, so he will need to research this later on.

Getting off his bed, Jaune decided to head back to the neighboring forest for experimentation. He must make sure none could follow him, fearing that revealing his connection with the Force will lead to ostracize him, by his family and society itself using his assassin training as reference. He was well aware the importance of avoiding attention, civilization or not.

He exited the house, checking once or twice with the Force for any tailing presences, before heading to the red forest. The sky above was a night black veil, with stars dotting the blanket above, making it the excellent opportunity to sneak outdoors unnoticed. He knows a good place to practice his force powers and newfound energy, clear of towering bark and trees and the ground littered with red leaves of Fall.

After some trekking later through the red sea of leaves, he finally arrived at the circular clearing. He smiled as he finally got the chance to truly stretch himself, and let loose without fear. He wanted to see if his connection to the force changed as well.

Jaune…no, right now he was Galen Marek, son of former Jedi Knight Kento Marek. Freed from Vader and the dark side. Galen now stood before a decent sized tree, the bark brown weak and about to crash down.

He took a deep breath, excitement bleeding out into the ambiance, and then cupped his hands together condensing force between his two palms, forming a swirling sphere of pure unadulterated force energy. And then released it with a thrust at the trees.

What followed, later on, was not what he expected.

*BOOM*

What he expected for was a moderate charged Force Push befitting for someone of his age, was instead an even stronger force that blasted a small hole through the tree, breaking it in half after taking a sizable chunk and toppling it down as it crashed into the ground with a mighty groan. He did not expect this. While the size of the Force Push was smaller as expected due to his young age, the power behind it was almost as strong as before when he was an adult. If he was this strong as a child, imagine how powerful he will be when he matures.

'Did my connection with the force strengthen after my death?' Galen does not know, as Darth Vader never taught him properly about the force and the more abstract concepts behind it. The Sith Lord usually force him to learn on his own and improve, nurturing his individuality and adaptability instead of the more conventional methods. And he knew the reason why…as doing so will make him more powerful than Vader could control. Although he was no longer under the threat of the Sith, Galen still wanted to obtain strength to protect his new bonds. He refuses to allow the same tragedy in Kashyyyk from happening again, new world or not.

Pondering this, Galen nodded as proceeded with telekinesis. He aimed for the branch on top of the tallest tall tree, testing his range and precision, and snapped it off before steadily bringing it to his left hand. Grabbing the branch, Galen nodded with satisfaction at the level of control. His control and effectiveness with the force had improved along with his reincarnation.

Next, came the darker aspects…Force Lightning. This one, Galen must be careful with, as one wrong move might start a forest fire around his home. With a flick of his arms forward, he instantly discharged streams of unrestrained power towards the night sky, flashing the night around him with white blue brilliance. He made sure he was far away enough to not catch his family's attention, assuming that their senses were compared to that of normal citizens'.

He ended the test as blue tendrils sparked from his fingertips. The ability was arduous to control, but it was he felt his control with it significantly improved as well. Satisfied with the results, Galen surveyed his surroundings for any presences attracted to the light, and when he confirmed none were around, he quickly headed back towards his home, returning his new identity Jaune Arc. He cannot be out for too long else he will arouse further suspicion from his new family. He does not want to curry any more favors from his sisters, or he will endure torment far worse than Vader will ever think of...

 ***Author here. Fast, I know right? Anyways, here is the new chapter. I always liked reincarnation stories, and I don't want Galen to become a third wheel of this story as well. I am still trying to come up with some original additions to the fanfic as well, like new Grimm, and new applications regarding Aura itself. I believe that Aura is capable of many more possibilities than portrayed in the story, so yeah, feel free to give some ideas if you want. Thanks to X3runner for helping me with the chapter and beta reading it. Please give me a review, and let me know what you think.**


	3. Chapter 2: The Meaning of Family

***Author here. Yeah, it was slow this time. I received some professional reviews regarding my writing style, and I wanted to improve my writing for my viewers to enjoy my work. Thanks to X3runner for beta reading my work. I want to build a proper beginning first before sending him off in the story of RWBY.**

Days went by after unlocking his Aura, yet Jaune was more focused on his Force Abilities than his Aura ones. He learned the foreign energy's name through asking one of his sisters, on the pretext of 'I've heard it from mom' which she bought thankfully. He wanted to learn more about Aura, but unfortunately, his circumstances had proven it too difficult. The problem was that procuring books or inquiring about Aura will arouse too much suspicion. Jaune was already standing on a thin tightrope ever since he cluelessly demonstrated his swordsmanship to his eldest sister, Celestine, without any regard for the consequences. He does not wish to risk their trust because his confidence in the art of deception was less than adequate.

He had some experience lying to Rahm Kota and the Senators that he was a Jedi, yet he discovered Rahm Kota already knew his identity the moment he met the blinded man in that bar. In short, he was much more comfortable with his blade than his tongue. While his family does not possess the Force, they had another advantage over him. They know him, and he is their family. They know him as 'Jaune', the little innocent boy they grew to know and love. Now, he was no longer that boy. He cannot further damage their vision of him anymore, as the brittle glass was already cracked the moment he grew distant.

Jaune stood in the clearing again, practicing and improving swordsmanship. Ever since he fought Vader and Palpatine, Jaune felt that his hybridized style had much need to improve. In his free time, he can focus on improving his swordsmanship accordingly to his new Aura environment.

In this world called Remnant, Jaune did not expect to encounter a lightsaber anytime soon. He knew for a fact that the chance of encountering a Kyber Crystal was the same as finding a Death Star on foot. This fact drove him to look for alternatives from crafting a blade himself to his standards or an alternative for his lightsaber. Perhaps the ubiquitous 'dust' he keeps hearing would do, but that would have to wait.

He now must adapt his style to be compatible with the more common blades and integrate other Lightsaber Forms in his current hybridized style. His body was small, so he was practicing two lightsaber forms he never deeply learned before. However, he did learn how to fight against the other forms from his training holodroid, PROXY. PROXY cataloged almost every lightsaber duelist and their lightsaber forms from the Clone Wars Era in his memory banks and mimicked their techniques to the absolute letter, allowing Galen to study and decipher their strengths and weaknesses during their spars.

One of them was Form Four, Ataru, The Way of the Hawk Bat. It was a fast-paced aggressive form characterized by force augmented acrobatics, thus help Jaune increase his agility and mobility. This form will aid him in combat utilizing his smaller frame to his advantage. Along with his body's newfound energy source aiding him by acting as a constant force field shrouding his body.

Next was Form Two, Makashi, The Way of the Ysalamiri, or The Contention Form, one of the more classical forms of lightsaber combat. Makashi was the form heavily based on dueling, lightsaber to lightsaber, but not meant to deflect blaster fire as well as the more modern forms. Jaune wanted to integrate the grace and fluidity of Makashi to better improve his blade sequences, making them cleaner and reducing unneeded waste of energy in his attacks. He remembered the tales of the Sith Lord Count Dooku, how he battled the Chosen One and defeated him numerous times via wit, tactics, and strategy until the climax of the Clone Wars. He even fought PROXY as Count Dooku to experience it first hand, despite it not being the man himself.

For Ataru, Jaune moved as swift as the wind, acrobatically jumping from red leaf to leaf around him. He slashed the falling red leaves as ideal practice targets to test his skills to the limit. For Makashi, Jaune continuously swung at a large red tree from all side, treating it as a practice dummy, while practicing his fluidity and minimizing the use of energy within each and every move.

His mind was so immersed in his training and thoughts, he failed to notice one of his more domineering sisters, Aureol, approaching his training area while calling for his name. Her face almost identical to Jaune's, but her cheeks more rounded and dimpled. Her hair yellow, but leaning more on golden. Her eyes also golden instead of blue like Jaune's and her body lithe, yet slightly wider than the boy himself.

"Jauuunnne! Wheeere arrree yooouuu?!" Her singing voice echoed through the forest for his name. After her voice reached his ears at a certain volume, he snapped out of his trance and ceased all activities, dropping his stick as he ran to his big sister. She was aware of his trips (via accidental discovery), though Jaune had to make peace with her to not ask any questions about his privacy, and she did not let him go without a debt to repay.

"Heeey!" Jaune called out for her attention. Aureol turned her head to his voice, her lips curving up into a warm sisterly smile.

"Jaune! I need to ask you a favor." She happily trotted through the sea of leaves and hugged her baby brother. Jaune played along as she continued hugging him, hugging her back in return.

"What kind of favor, big sis?" Jaune asked, before sensing a sudden chill running down his spine.

"Dear brother…" She paused as her golden eyes gazed into his azure ones with a devilish light.

"Won't you spend some time with your beloved sister?" Her sickly sweet voice eerily chimed in an inquiry.

"Huh?" Jaune stupidly replied upon hearing her abnormal tone, arousing unease unlike any he'd experienced before. Aureol smiled as she then grabbed Jaune by the hand and dragged her brother towards their house. After entering their home from the red forest, she spoke again.

"You know, for being the only boy in the family, you have one of the most delicate faces of us all and such silky smooth hair." Her hand running through her brother's hair…as if she sealed his fate. As they started to enter her room, any thought of escape vanished. Not even Vader's grasp left him feeling this helpless.

Once inside her room, he saw the book his sister would always read, Dark Butler. However, what unsettled him wasn't the book itself but the cover. The book showed the titular male character, however, he was, garbed in a bright pink dress. His eyes widened as he saw a seemingly homemade replica of this dress next to the book, one that seemed too small for her. It looked as if it was…just his size.

'Oh by the Force, no…' Jaune internally wailed. All the pain and misery of the Dark Side paled in comparison of Aureol's sadistic hobby. Forcing pain onto another is one thing, but stripping the values of an individual, primarily one's male dignity? He preferred facing the Emperor again than this.

Aureol's smile widened as her hands slowly reach for his shirt. "Please don't run. You agreed to this the moment you asked for our silence." She smiled even more as a nearly perverse glee was etched into her features.

Giving up, now trapped like a mouse in a cage, he closed his eyes as he tried to convince himself this was one of Vader's torturous lessons. As resistance perished within him, she continued. "You're going to love this."

"No, I won't-"

"Glad you agree. I know I will…. you're going to be so pretty, it's almost like having another sister." Aureol answered for him as she grabbed his shirt, commencing the torment.

For the first time in his life, Jaune…no, Galen cried in abject misery in his two lives. He felt his sister's hands removing his shirt and replacing it with something else of her own design. Unable to bear seeing himself being dressed, Jaune closed his eyes, not wanting to blind himself in pain, but he cannot resist taking small peeks at himself in the mirror before him.

Every time he caught a glance of himself, he saw his identity's transformation process from the mirror. He can feel some powdery substance slathering all over his face, and his hair being tinkered against his will.

"Done!" Once Aureol finished, Jaune opened his eyes, bracing himself for the worse. He saw what could very well pass for his sister in the mirror…and it scared him. He didn't know if he should be terrified that his visage was now so delicately feminine or amazed that his sister was able to change his looks so quickly. As he was mesmerized by the stranger looking back at him, mirroring his every move, he heard a giggle followed by a few quick snaps. The sound fueling his fear, he quickly turned his head to see his sister holding a scroll in hand, followed by even more snaps from the device.

"Wait… Pictures? Are you really taking photos of me in a dress!?" Jaune asked with incredulity and panic. To which his sister responded with "We have to commemorate our first sibling bonding moment; you wouldn't want our sisters to miss out on seeing you like this… they would be so sad."

His right eye twitching, Jaunes voice clearly expressed his panic "First… what do you mean by first? This isn't going to be a regular thing, right? Right?" Jaune asked his eyes dilated. His sister responded with silence, but her lips twisted into a blood-curdling, perverse smile as if to confirm his greatest fears.

Aureol's smile reminded him of the Emperor's at his most cunning, vicious moments. "Not unless you want mom to find out about your secret fashion 'preference'…. oh and what's this evidence I have in this scroll? I do believe you'd look so much better with longer hair too." Her all too innocent voice rang in a musical fashion. Jaune's body then stiffened like a tree.

'...Is she a Sith Lord?' Jaune can't help but compare her to the Emperor. He cannot help but wonder if this was punishment for his sins, for all the murders he committed under Vader's will before he betrayed him. If this was his penance, then he prayed the Force will punish him no more than this. Worse case scenario was his friends and enemies from before seeing him like this. He can imagine their laughter haunting him forever to his very grave. What would his mother think of him? Worst of all, what would Juno think if he ever saw him like this?

"Evil…You're pure evil." Jaune groaned with shame. Smiling with satisfaction, his sister only patted his head in response.

"Silly Jaune. Sisterly love isn't evil." She continued patting his head, before hugging his small body and resting her chin on his blond hair. Caught off guard and confused by her actions, he felt her warmth coursing through his head until she spoke her thoughts.

"Jaune, please don't let your secrets push your family away. Your mother and sisters missed you, Jaune." Aureol gently admonished her little brother, surprising him with her sudden change of subject. Jaune remained silent, baffled that she was aware of his private activities to this extent. Words could not express the unease in his heart as his mind raced with the imagination of him revealing his dark past, and them rejecting him because of it.

"Hahaha, look at your big sister trying to lecture her little brother…I don't know what you are doing alone in your spare time, but please Jaune. Don't shun away those who care for you…and please, remember. Don't forget the importance of family no matter what." Aureol let out all of her concerns onto Jaune. Her unexpected embrace and words touched a part of his heart he never thought was there…his desire for a family. He does not know much about his family besides that they love to dote on him, leading him to treat them on the same level as friends, but she…proved him wrong.

From her actions, she taught him what it was like to have a family, a family he never had in his previous life. With the warm feeling blossoming in his chest, he steadily held his hands on her arms wrapped around his neck and tightened his grips softly. He severely underestimated her perception and character, and her role as a big sister.

"...I won't." Jaune promised with resolve.

"Thank you…but that does not mean you will escape our bonding time, teehee." She giggled, sorely reminding Jaune of his predicament.

"Ah…" He then let go of her arms in shock.

"Now, be a good little brother and grow your hair out for me. Or maybe a wig will do? So many possibilities…maybe I should get the others to help me." She pondered. The crossdressed boy turned his head up in terror.

"No no no no! You alone are enough! Don't drag our sisters into your wicked hobby!" The trapped boy shouted in desperation. He refused to let more of his sisters get a lord over him via blackmail.

"Awwww, but they would so elated…" Aureol complained, her tone laced with a false sadness.

"If they heard you, their hearts would break…" She added.

"No, they won't! Nuh uh, there is no way they will-" He tried to vehemently deny the possibility that they share Aureol's interests, but he was cut off by a cute voice of imploration.

"Pleasssseeeee?" She unwrapped her arms from his neck and stared into his eyes. Staring back, Jaune sees his sister's…yellow eyes…as large as dinner plates. She was giving him the puppy dog eyes. Something he had never encountered as Galen Marek It confused him at first but after a few seconds, it finally hit him. He felt a power much stronger than any type of Force Persuasion he had ever faced. Jaune's iron will slowly but effectively eroded upon gazing deeply into her eyes.

'What's this…power?!' Jaune's eyes quivered with resistance. He does not know how to fight this skill, he does not know how to fend off against…against…cuteness! Her golden eyes were wide, puffy, and trembling with a hypnotic softness never before seen.

"What is this!? Your eyes! I can't…" Jaune strained his mind in a desperate struggle resisting against this foreign power.

"Pleeeeeeeaaaaasssse? For your big sisters…" Aureol pleaded with a cuter, imploring tone. Her final move broke Jaune's last lines of defense, making him slump his shoulders in defeat and drain his eyes of life. In his defeat, Jaune now learned the power of cuteness the hard way, his newest and greatest weakness. Hence, in his last attempt of resistance, he can only say…

"Evil! You really are pure evil!" Which only made her smile with satisfaction.

"Tee hee. Now let's introduce you to our sisters! I can't wait to show you to them!"

Jaune groaned and whined as she dragged him by the arm away out of the frying pan and into the fire. Thirty minutes later, the unfortunate boy entered a room followed by a small mob of doting sisters (four of them) behind him cooing over his current feminized form, dress and all.

* * *

"Did you arrive in Vacuo, Qrow?" Joana spoke to her scroll by her ear while walking out with three of her daughters shopping for groceries. She received the Branwen's phone number from Glynda the next day so she could keep in contact with the man.

"*Yawn*...Almost. Just give me six more hours …" The Branwen's yawning voice resounded from the other end. He was traveling by boat instead of by plane, as doing so will raise suspicions from Ozpin and Ironwood should he head there that fast.

His lethargic voice irked Joana. She can tell he was more willing to go to bed than carry out his responsibilities.

"Qrow, don't you dare go to sleep on me." The mother warned severely with a dark tone. The man just groaned and clicked his tongue.

"Ugggh, what's the rush? I tried to come here as fast as I could, and I am tired like hell." Qrow complained in return.

"The reason is that one: Jaune is in severe need of guidance. And two: I need someone to keep an eye on him whenever I'm away. And three-" She cut herself off when she caught the eyes of passerby staring at her. She failed to notice her rising volume during her conversation. Noticing the awkward stares, she smiled with equal awkwardness in response in the market.

"..And?" Qrow, however, did not notice.

"...And three: I want to know what is happening to my son. He…changed. He used to be so…innocent, and energetic. But now, he is more self-aware, and…the way he speaks does not fit his age." She stated.

"...Explain." Her words intrigued the remainder of his attention span.

"...He knows words that most children his age should not know, and his manner of speech is much more mature. I don't know what happened to him, but as a mother, it is my responsibility to take care of his well being." She enlightened as she spoke her heart out.

A silent pause ensued as the drunkard pondered the information.

"I see. You are afraid that he might've been traumatized or something, eh? And it somehow led to him unlocking his own Aura as Glynda said. Kay, I got it." He surmised.

"Though I am not kidding about the six hours. It will take quite some time to get here." He added through the phone. Joana was about to demand him to hurry up but then one of her daughters interrupted her.

"Mom, can we go buy some Pumpkin Petes and chocolate? We want sweets." She asked. Joana covered speaker of the scroll as she replied.

"Alright, but only one for each of you. Now Indicus, Casia, Denima, go buy the vegetables and put them into the cart. I will go pick up the fish and pork." She requested. They nodded and dispersed with youthful energy across the market. She then heard a stifled laugh from the scroll.

"Pfff, are you calling me while you're shopping? Really?" Qrow was amused by their short conversation. Joana does not share his amusement, evident by her deathly silent treatment.

"Alright, alright. Anyways, see you in at least six hours. I'm gonna go take a nap now." He dismissed as he ended the call before she can have a say. The mother grimaced at the man's irksome personality. She does not know if she can trust him to take care of Jaune, but she will find out soon enough.

On Qrow's end, however, he turned off his scroll and returned it to his pocket, while walking out of the boat and onto the port harbor. His steps casually tapping the wooden planks as he strolled towards the road to Vacuo. The gentle ocean breeze blew through his hair and clothes.

'Heh. Sorry Joana, but I can't resist.'

He arrived at his destination earlier than expected, the crafty crow deciding to spy on Joana's estranged son first. He found it very amusing to tease the woman, most likely because she was friends with Glynda. Doing so feel like teasing Glynda in a way, even if indirectly. He whistled on his pleasant thoughts as he wondered what the boy will be like.

'A boy with profound never before seen talent eh, Glynda? Well, I wonder how the kid can surprise me?' Qrow thought, unaware of the territory he was stepping into.

* * *

After hours and hours of indignities and tribulation, the sisters finally freed Jaune from further torment. His four sisters' doting was too overbearing, too heavy for his self-esteem to uphold. They braided his yellow hair, put makeup on his face, and dressed him the Force knows how many times. Their reactions varied from squealing in joy to having minor nosebleeds, to some of them even forcing Jaune to 'act cute'. Galen never, ever acted cute before. It defied his identity as the former apprentice of Darth Vader on so many levels… yet they managed to coerce him into doing so with their overpowering puppy eyes. And worse, they won't be satisfied unless his act was truly genuine in their perspective. He lost an important piece of himself that day… and it will take some time to get it back.

Now in his room, his haven from his demon sisters, Jaune sprawled his body all over his comfy bed, snuggling comfortably onto his yellow silk sheets. He relaxed his exhausted body and released all his pent up fatigue. He silently wailed at his weakness, his inability to counter the puppy eyes. The eyes were too powerful. His mind was exhausted, in desperate need for a nap.

He undid the makeup, swapped his clothes for his male pajamas, and unbranded his hair. After undoing his sisters' damage, Jaune closed his eyes, ready to nap his troubles away and replenish his depleted mental fortitude.

After an hour, his mind drifted away into his personal world, but it quickly transformed into a nightmare about his sisters…putting him in a cage for them to play with later on. In this reality, his sisters bore twice the size of Rancors, and their faces shrouded in malevolent shadows giving them the appearance of demons wearing human faces. And as if to make matters worse, an infinite number of dresses, so many dresses, littered the ground as far as the eyes can see the boundless sea. When they picked a dress too pink and frilly for his liking and reached their hands for Jaune, he woke up from his nightmare, heavily heaving for his life. His head darted around looking for the demons, but only saw the calm mundane setting of his room instead… allowing him to sigh in relief.

'Just a bad dream…just a bad dream…' He thought as he looked out the window beside his bed, seeing the sun slowly darkening into dusk.

'Maybe some training to take my mind off today…' He thought, in critical need to relieve his pent-up agitation one way or another. What better way than pumping some much-needed adrenaline through his veins? He looked at the clock on the nightstand beside his bed, seeing that he had about one or two hours until dinner at six.

He dismounted his bed and went to the wooden drawer searching for a change of clothes. After finding a simple brown shirt and blue jeans, he then exited the room and headed to his eldest sister's room, one with the name Celestine wrote on the wooden door, to ask for a spare wooden practice sword. After knocking the door thrice, his eldest sister, Celestine Arc, softly asked.

"Who is it?" Her soft melodic voice rang out.

"It's your little brother. I need to borrow the wooden sword." Jaune requested. Silence followed for a second before soft steps resounded from behind the door. After a few minutes, the door gently pulled open revealing the soft blemish free face of his eldest sister. In her left hand, Celestine held a wooden practice sword and handed it out to her little brother.

"You going out for your private time again?" Celestine asked with a warm sisterly smile. Her pale yellow face was crystal clear of facial blemish, her eyes sky blue, her lips supple pink, and her celeste wavy hair silken and long. Her body frame lithe and supple, yet possess subtle signs of muscle tone from her training in combat school. She was wearing simple pajamas matching her hair color, with a cartoonish picture of an adorable white cat woven in front of her shirt.

"Uh huh…please tell me you won't make me dress up again…" Jaune pleaded, his eyes shrinking from the horrid thought. Celestine giggled from his words, finding it very cuddly.

"Awww, no, I won't, little Daisy…maybe tomorrow or two. Just be ready for us at any time, my cute little brother." Jaune frowned when she called him by his newest nickname, one he got during his traumatizing dress up. Noticing this, she ceased her teasing and handed out the wooden sword to him.

"Take care, Jaune. Don't do anything too reckless, or break the sword." She gently reminded her brother, as he nodded and received her sword.

"I won't, big sis. I will remember to return when it's dinner. If not…well, I think you know where to find me, haha." Jaune said his farewell as she replied with a 'Bye, Jaune. The girls and I will be happy to prepare a new dress for you tomorrow'.

Ignoring her unwanted words, Jaune walked downstairs to the lobby, but not without exposing himself to his mother in the kitchen and confirming his father had not returned home yet, and secretly snuck out of the house. His father had yet to return from his work as a chef. His cooking skills earned him praise during his time as a hunter, thus leading his retirement to a simple humble job, one that he treated as a hobby.

After walking for around ten minutes, he returned to the clearing standing in the center of the sea of leaves. Jaune closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his mind to prepare himself. He then started his daily routine by blasting the ground with audible Force Push, scattering the leaves into the air around him. The design of the training this time was to test his perception, reflexes, and skill by aiming for the yellow leaves treating them as targets, while the red leaves were the sword and shield. He must not allow any of the red leaves to make contact on his body.

Jaune spread his senses, taking in the red blizzard of leaves surrounding him, and detected around three yellow leaves amongst the swarms of red. Locking onto the yellow leaves, Jaune reverse gripped his practice sword and charged through the red storm and swung.

He swung up his weapon and cleaved himself a path to a yellow leaf forty degrees to his left and dashed to his target while twirling his blade around him like a dome shield. This way, he deflected any falling leaves that might touch him in his path.

With impeccable timing, blade work and precision, Jaune evaded red leaves of symbolic defeat as they nearly brushed against his skin and clothes. For every leaf about to make contact, Jaune merely shifted his body accordingly letting them marginally flutter by him as if they moved past him of their own volition, depicting him as if he was harmonizing with nature, as one with the forest itself. He then reached within striking distance of his target and swiped his wooden blade knocking it away.

Turning his focus to the next target, he did the same with the other leaf and hit his mark. And then for the last one, Jaune simply tossed his weapon with a Force Saber throw, the weapon clock spinning towards the last leaf, bypassing the red obstacles using the Force and hit its mark before returning to his hand.

Finishing his objective, he nodded at his work in satisfaction before all the leaves made contact with the earth, painting the land around him scarlet fall again. As he was about to leave, after taking a few steps, he turned his head right looking at a certain bird. A single gray crow perching inconspicuously on a branch of a tall tree staring directly into his eyes.

Sensing an unusual peculiarity within the crow, Jaune turned his body left, his feet shuffling through the leaves as he walked towards the lone small bird atop the tree branch. Unlike the small forest animals he encountered so far, this one's beady eyes had purpose and not only that, its Aura felt out of place. Thus, trusting his instincts, Jaune decided to closely inspect the small animal with meticulous care and uncover the source of his unease.

* * *

Qrow was astounded. No, more liked dumbfounded beyond belief. Using his semblance, he transformed into a crow to snoop on the boy early. At first, he did not consider the boy to be special minus the humorous revelation that his sisters forced him to become their dress-up doll (by peeping through the window in the girl's room). The crafty crow laughed like there was no tomorrow as he found hilarious blackmail material he never thought he encountered. He would've left the boy alone (after getting bored from watching him nap) if it weren't for the fact that he went to what seemed to be his elder sister and asked for her wooden practice sword, and left the house the next moment for purposes unknown. He tailed the boy from a distance, perching from tree to tree until he stopped upon a clearing.

After perching a tree with a suitable vantage point, he spectated the blond boy scattering the leaves and dancing around them profound fluidity and grace he did not expect from the eight-year-old. He watched him perform from beginning to end, so immersed in the scene he forgot to maintain his distance from the boy when he unintentionally moved closer to him on his path to home.

Now, he was having a deadly staring contest with the monster of a boy, unable to understand how the boy even noticed him.

'How in Ohm's name did he notice me?' The moment he got within his radius, he just spontaneously turned his head to him despite the crow perching inconspicuously on a tree. Joana did warn him about the boy's sensing capabilities, but he never thought it would be to this extent. The boy was indeed abnormal like Joana said in every sense of the word.

And to makes things worse, the boy started to walk towards him, stoking his fears more and more with each and every step. Qrow's mind entered fell into chaos as he went over his options.

One: He can just fly away hoping that he won't chase him, but considering the boy's eyes filled with suspicion, he would most likely chase him down.

Two: Reveal his identity and true form at the cost of ruining Joana's request.

Three: Just stare at him until he goes away, though it would take a miracle for that to happen.

Many more options raced through his mind. However, the boy raised his hand at Qrow, snapping the disguised Branwen out of his thoughts. His action confused him unsure of what the boy was intending to do, until…he found some invisible power wrapping around him.

'What the dark hell?!' Qrow was panicking as his bird body started levitating up in midair. He does not know what he just did, but he thinks he figured out what the boy's Semblance was. He wondered if he is related to Glynda by any chance, as he shares her blond hair, glaring eyes, and now a form of telekinesis. Although the boy's eyes were much more…darker than Glynda's. He wondered if he will follow Glynda's future when he grows up…

Musings aside, now that he was caught, he must transform to free himself before he gets on the wrong foot with the child…but doing so meant failing Joana's request…

'Crap. Joana's gonna kill me…' Qrow thought as he was about to undo his semblance, but then…

"Jauuuunnnneeee! Dinner's ready! We're having Baked Potato Salmon and Honey Roasted Pork Tenderloins!" The voice of the boy's sister echoed through the forest with impeccable timing.

Both Qrow and Jaune turned their heads to see the long, wavy celeste hair of Jaune's eldest sister, Celestine, from afar. Qrow then heard something akin to an Ursa growling from the boy's stomach. He wondered how the boy was even that hungry after a good workout. And to his luck, Jaune released him from his hold, dropping him back to his branch before turning his attention to his doting sister.

"I'm coming!" Jaune shouted back to his sister.

"Hurry up! The dinner will get cold!" She replied.

Acknowledging this, Jaune began his journey back home, but not before giving one last look at Qrow, briefly narrowing his azure eyes at him, before resuming his journey. Qrow, on the other hand, fell on his talons, taken back at the coincidental rescue.

'Oh thank you, lady luck.' Seeing the miracle successful, Qrow decided to honor the invisible forces at work by swearing off liquor in their honor…for one whole day. Back to the situation, he warily waited until the boy walked far away enough from his position, not wanting to risk another unfortunate capture. After Jaune disappeared from his sight, he then flapped his wings away to his motel, ready to make a certain call to a certain mother.

Along the way, he wondered if the boy will take after Glynda's example when he grows up, becoming another Headmaster's assistant after Glynda's image…he nearly burst out laughing when he imagined the boy wearing Glynda's attire, her white long-sleeved pleated top, black thigh high heeled boots and all. And seeing how his sisters treated him, it was definitely a possibility.

 ***Author here. Please fave, follow, and/or review my work. I am trying to compare my writing style and improve it during my spare time. I would like to have any and all honest opinions on my style. For other writers, I would be glad if you share what you learned with me if possible. I find this very relaxing and enjoyable when I share my work and styles with others. PM if you are interested, and I will see you all later.**


	4. Chapter 3: Prelude for Patch

***Authors note.**

 **Thanks to X3runner for beta reading.**

 **Heyo, it's me again. Sorry for the chapter being this short. The funny thing is, I already wrote more than fifty thousand words of future scenes, yet I am so slow with this one... Don't know why. Might be an indication of how long this story is going to be hahaha. Anyways, I wrote a lot of things. Planned where the introduction of Star Wars Grimm will appear and when they will (mid-story), and know this, the old Grimm will be nothing compared with the Star Wars ones. The Dark Side is too powerful for the incarnations of the Remnant's Dark God. Anyways, it might be a bit rushed, but I hope you all enjoy this.**

Around evening, Jaune was sitting down with his family around a large round table filled with plates of colorful food. He was enjoying his food, loving the Baked Potato Salmon the most. He never managed to savor food this much in his previous life… as it was mostly just life-threatening training and more training along with assassination missions. He does not know if he could get used to this just yet.

"How's the food, son?" Jaune's father, Jonathan asked. He possesses chiseled features, golden eyes, and short messy hair of silver white similar to Jaune's hairstyle. His skin was apricot, rough and toned from his time as a huntsman, with a few scars to boot. One small scratch diagonally down his bottom chin, the second horizontally on his left neck, and finally one vertically marked at the center of his forehead. His body was slightly broad, well toned evident by his well-built arms.

"Mm, it's good, dad. How did you make this?" Jaune asked after swallowing. Speaking without manners at the table was a taboo set by Joana. Punishment for breaking the taboo was a half hour of painful spanking.

"Ohoho, no no. It was Celestine this time," Jonathan answered with a deep, prideful tone while pointing at his eldest daughter sitting at his left. Jaune looked at the calm smooth face of his eldest sister with awe.

"Oh, it wasn't much." Celestine waved off his eyes of praise with a smile.

"She got it from me, just so you know," Jonathan gloated a little, earning a pout from Celestine in the process.

"Dad!"

Her little sisters giggled at her in the process, earning more pouts from their eldest sister while Jaune just smiled genially at the bright scene. A warm, happy family, chatting and eating together without any trouble in the world. Though, the only thing missing in this family dinner was…

"Dad, where's mom?" Jaune could not sense her presence within the house ever since he returned home.

"Oh. She said she had to go meet a friend from our Huntsman days in town. She was invited to dinner by him, so I don't think she'll be here for a while." Jonathan informed, sparking Jaune's curiosity about the man's identity.

* * *

Meanwhile...

Joana was meeting with Qrow at a well-known cafe, Setting Star, sitting in a chair at a teak round one-stand table. She was waiting for him to arrive at the cafe but the said man was late. Anger slowly swelled in her veins, threatening to pop with violent fury, but fortunately, the crafty crow entered her line of sight in the streets behind a glass window. She waved her hand calling for his attention, which he noticed and watched as he entered the cafe and directly strolled to her table, sitting down on the other empty chair.

"You're late." Joana's scolded with venom. She can smell the traces of liquor staining his gray shirt, contorting her face with disgust. Qrow however blatantly ignored her tone and face and spoke up. The words coming out of his mouth not something she expected to hear.

"Joana, have you been involved in any demonic rituals by any chance?"

"..." Joana only stared at Qrow, processing his choice of words to the letter.

"...Excuse me?"

"Ahem, sorry. Look, I've been spying on your kid for a while-"

"You said you were on a ship towards Sanus… and that it will take some time getting to my 'humble town'." Joana cut in, bringing up another touchy subject.

"...Sorry, I lied. Anyways, is your kid possessed or something? I mean, is he really a kid ?" Qrow asked.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Joana asked unsure what he was trying to say.

"...I just saw your kid training out in the forest… his Semblance is telekinesis. You wouldn't happen to be related to Glynda by any chance?" Joana shook her head at his strange question. She treated Glynda like a sister but never was she one by blood.

"Really? You sure?" Qrow only received Joana's eye daggers in response.

"Alright, alright. One more thing, he knows how to use a sword." Joana quirked an eyebrow at his claim.

"Oh, so he'd taken an interest in swordsmanship? I want to know! Tell me-"

"You don't understand. The boy is good. Too good for someone his age. I know when someone is experienced with the sword when I see one." Qrow interjected, ending Joana's fantasies about her son's future.

She looked at Qrow with a raised eyebrow again.

"Look, I know it is hard to explain, but… that boy is beyond prodigy. He is a natural born swordmaster. I don't know if he's directly blessed by Ohm or just something inhuman like one of those things I've seen in those horror movies regarding demonic possession."

"Accuse my son of being a demon again, and I swear I will rip off your sorry excuse of a manhood." Joana threatened, silencing Qrow's insensitive claims.

"..." Awkward silence subsequently ensued, basking them in an uncomfortable atmosphere.

"...I know he's not possessed as you say. I've watched how he unlocked his aura, and from how his aura shone, I know for a fact that he is a pure soul… and you know demons far better than I do. Even I know they don't have a soul as bright as the sun." Joana argued softly, lifting up the tension.

Qrow remained silent. His eyes locked on Joana's as if trying to argue otherwise. But in the end, he couldn't find the right words to speak his thoughts.

"…Fine, I will see what I can find out about the kid. Anyways, I feel hungry. I want something… filling." Qrow insinuated as he took up a menu.

"Oh right. It's your treat, right?" He asked before ordering. Joana stared at him deadpanned, unable to believe the shameless words coming out of his mouth.

"...Yeah, my treat." Joana replied with distaste, deciding to bear it for now.

"Sweet. Waitress." Qrow called for the worker girl.

"I will take… the most expensive dish you got. No, the top three most expensive, madam." Qrow ordered with a smile, which grew wider upon seeing Joana's scowl marring her fair, serene face.

Joana felt like tearing off his manhood and force-feed it into his mouth. Her nails dug into the wooden table, emphasizing her growing ire.

"Oh, and could you add the best dessert on the spot, beautiful?" Qrow added as he winked at the waitress, setting Joana off.

'Qroooooowwww!' Her left eye twitched in extreme irritation, her heart longing to tear the crow's wings off.

The man only smiled in return along with a wink, with the gall to add salt to injury, but not without severe retribution later on, as a high-pitched cry echoed from the city that day.

* * *

After finishing dinner, Jaune was dragged by his sisters into the living room. Not for playing dress up, but to…

"Come on, Lil' bro! Let's dance!" Indicus shouted happily.

Play Dance Dance Revolution. Jaune does not know how to dance. Hell, Galen knew squat about dancing…

'Does learning the Forms count as dancing?' Jaune thought as Indicus dragged him by the arm while the others set up the dancing mats on the wooden floors, plugged in the game console into the plasma screen TV, and inserted the game disk into the slot. The room was big, right next to the light brown lobby. The floors were polished wood, linearly segmented patterned. A white wide plasma screen sat in the middle of the living room, with the children of the Arc Family gathered before it.

'...Screw it, I'll improvise. How hard can dancing be?' Jaune thought, believing dancing paled in comparison with the highly refined forms passed down from the Jedi for countless years.

Ten minutes later…

'It's harder than I thought!' Jaune thought as he struggled with each and every step. As Galen, he learned how to 'dance' in times of conflict… but dancing in times of peace? Jaune realized how inept he was.

Now, Jaune was dancing on the floor mat with his sister while the song, Shine, blared from the TV. He was dancing like a concussed dog on spice… though his sisters were angelically supportive of him. They kept encouraging him to dance, helping him through every step of the way. If Jaune was not traumatized by being forced to dress and act like a girl, he would've seen this as a truly happy family moment.

"Come on… Why is this so hard…" Jaune grumbled. His movements were clumsy and out of sync, his balance rigid from the unfamiliar movements.

"Jaune, it's not that hard! Just go with the music!" Indicus encouraged, dancing on Jaune's left. The boy only groaned as cramps started to creep into his leg muscles.

'Why can't the lightsaber forms help me dance!?' Jaune mentally groused. He had a strong urge to collapse and sit the dance out… but he must stifle it for the sake of his sisters. They are very persuasive, and… Jaune does not want to disappoint them by distancing himself again. Although he does consider this as a fun learning experience.

Before he tried another attempt, Jaune froze upon sensing his mother's Aura approaching the front door. Sensing Aura compared with sensing other Force-based lifeforms was different, but could be sensed nonetheless, making it simple for Jaune to adapt over time. The difference was that each individual Aura has their own… color, marking the individuality of each and every soul.

"Mom's home!" Jaune yelled, making his sisters pause their activities for now.

"I'll go get it!" Indicus volunteered as she ran out of the living room. After she left, Jaune felt… another Aura behind their mother, though this one shown ripples through it... as if it was... damaged? Jaune could not tell. What's even stranger was that the Aura felt familiar despite detecting it for the first time.

'Who is this?' Jaune thought as he followed Indicus out the living room to see this new presence for himself.

Upon entering the lobby, Jaune looked at the hallway leading to the front wall, to see Indicus pull it open and reveal… his mother, carrying large brown plastic bags along with a large purse, and a man decorated in grey and-

*Sniff Sniff*

There was a faint stench of alcohol, the scent reminding him of Rahm Kota in his times of depression. The stench of a drunk made Jaune frown, as memories of the downtrodden general surfaced in his mind.

'Who is he?' Jaune felt like giving him a bath... a very 'cleansing' bath, one he wished to give Rahm Kota before when he had the chance. It does not involve water or fluids, but something... much stronger.

"Hello, I'm home. And I brought a friend to a sleepover at the house." Joana cheerily informed while the man behind her grimaced from some form of pain… and looking at his crotch, Jaune can guess the source.

'Did mom do this?' He mused, a little amused with the imagery of his mother cracking the alcoholic's manhood.

"Mom, he smells funny!" Indicus scrunched her eyebrows as her fingers clenched her nose.

"I know. That is why he is taking a shower. Now. I will introduce him to you girls later on." Joana said as she smiled.

"Ugh, where's… the bathroom?" The grey-haired man asked, grunting from dire pain with his two legs tightly closed.

"Upstairs! Third room to the right!" Indicus answered for Joana.

"Thank you…" The man groaned as he trudged into the house heading for the stairs in the lobby. Jaune watched with amusement on how the man walked like a cripple, his lips curving up into a cheerful smile. Somehow, he relished the man's pain despite just meeting him for the first time. He wonders if the sadistic pleasure originated from the Dark Side… or just the Force entirely. Or maybe because he sort of reminded him of Rahm Kota in his worse years that he enjoyed his suffering. Either way, he does not know, he just enjoyed seeing him squirm with almost every fiber of his being.

"Mom, who is this man?" Jaune asked Joana with a tone of curiosity as his eyes trailed the slow gray figure.

"Oh dear. He is a friend I met from my Huntress days. He's a little roguish but he is a good man… most of the time." Joana's voice trailed off and her eyes broke eye contact with Jaune's. He did not miss her distaste for the man.

"...Okay." Jaune does not want to know more about the man. He would rather not have anything to do with him if possible.

"Oh, and I almost forgot!" Joana said as took off upstairs, and heard a muffled 'Ow!' from the man upstairs. Jaune smirked at the sound of Joana knocking the man down as he heard her steps returning back down from the stairs. When Joana ran back to Jaune, she presented what looked like a… sheathed sword to him.

"...Is that a sword?" Jaune asked as he tilted his head, unsure why she brought it here.

"Well, I heard from Celeste that you like swords, right? When I heard this, a picture of your Grandpa came up and reminded me of his sword kept in the attic! Please, draw it out!" Jaona smiled as her blue eyes sparkled from parental joy. Jaune scrutinized the sword meticulously, flipping it over up and down in his hands. After enough inspection, Jaune drew the blade from its sheath… and held it up with his two hands in the air, watching the blade gleam under the Dust fueled light from the ceiling. From this angle, the sword was like a large two-handed sword in his tiny child hands. Then again, he did wield Celeste's practice sword of similar size, but the difference was that he can feel the weight of an actual sword this time. Holding the weapon, a memory of him holding Vader's lightsaber when he was a child flashed in his mind.

'A bit heavy, but I can manage with enough training…' Jaune mused with a smile.

"Do you like it?" Joana asked expectantly noticing his smile. Indicus, however, held a different reaction to her present.

"Mom, he's eight! He shouldn't be able to hold a real sword! And the sword is too large for his size!" Indicus reminded her mother, making her freeze in realization, but Jaune's words spoke otherwise.

"Hmm, it is a little heavy, but I like it! What's it called?" Jaune asked as tilted the blade from side to side, grasping the feel of the sword.

"...It's called Croceas Mors, sweety. It was left in the attic by your grandfather, before his unfortunate passing… though forgive your mother for giving it to you too early…" Joana sheepishly poked her two fingers together sheepishly. Seeing his mother acting this cute made him let out a chuckle.

"...Thank you, mom." Jaune thanked with a big, toothy white smile, though he was unaware of its potency when coupled with his current appearance. He did not even notice the blood trickling down Indicus' nose, nor his mother's rosy red cheeks, infatuated with the cuteness before them.

Indicus subtly tiptoed to Joana, cupping her left hand near her lips for a whisper.

"Mom, can we dress him up? He looks so cute in a dress!" Indiculus squealed silently, wanting to abuse her brother's innocence while she still can.

"..." Joana, however, was busy, her mind raced with countless images of her only son in countless dresses and outfits… and they all look fantastic.

"...Show me the pictures later on." Joana approved silently. Indicus squealed with mischievous delight.

Jaune, however, stopped smiling as he felt a sudden chill down his spine. He looked around him, looking for the source of his unease, and when his eyes landed on his mother and sister… he can see a dark, malicious aura surrounding his mother and sister…

'...No, no…' Jaune then tried to deny the possibility that his mother was infected by his sisters' cross-dressing disease.

Thus, repressing his foreboding thoughts, Jaune then coughed loudly, trying to get their attention.

"Mom, I feel tired… can I go to bed now?" Jaune asked as he placed Croceas Mors back in its sheath. He suddenly had a desire to flee before facing another cross-dresser demon.

"But Jaune, we're not done with Dance Dance Revolution! You still haven't learned the basics!" Indicus shouted, only to receive a twitch from Jaune's eye.

"But I am tired…" Jaune refuted as he frowned. Indicus frowned as well… before she weaponized her pupils into puppy dog eyes.

"..." Jaune's lips quivered upon seeing those eyes again, desperately resisting her ultimate power to escape his sisters' predatory hobbies.

"Pleeeeaaaasssssseeeee…" Her words were like a missile blasting his cracked steel fortress. He continued to struggle desperately for his life under heavy fire… until he saw tears welling up in her eyes. Her tears were like a Star Destroyer crashing into his meager fortress...

'Damn it.' He failed miserably.

"Fine…" Jaune felt like crying at this moment.

"Yay!" She then grabbed his hand and dragged a very crying Jaune back to the living room, leaving their smiling mother alone to her private thoughts… the private thoughts being what Jaune would look like in girl clothes.

* * *

After she finished her imaginations, she then walked upstairs before catching the glimpse of Qrow leaning his back on the wall atop the stairs. Knowing him, she understood he was eavesdropping on Jaune's interaction with his family, to observe his behavior in a comfortable, safe environment.

"Hm, he's a nice kid… at first glance. Very deceptive." Qrow commented as Joana frowned.

"I know, I know. But you really should've seen him when he's alone. Besides, I can see him warily eying me when I walked past him. I am not sure if he found out I was the crow he caught in the forest." Qrow followed up before the mama bear would lash him out.

"You reek of alcohol. Of course, he will be wary of you. Even I can see that after knowing you for so long." Joana retorted defensively.

"Yeah, that too maybe. Anyways, what now? How'd you want this to go? I can't exactly say 'hey, your mom asked me to bring you to a playdate and tutor you how to be a huntsman' and otherwise. How will you explain that to the kid?" Qrow brought up a valid point.

"Well… I can ask the girls to help with that. He can't argue if they support your… validity as a teacher."

"I am an actual teacher at Signal you know?"

"And I am still questioning why they hired you." She quipped, still unable to believe that he got an actual job.

"Touche." He retorted with a chuckle.

"Will you convince Jaune to let me teach him then? I do not think that he appreciates being taken away from his home for months." Qrow asked as Joana pondered this dilemma.

"Well… you can start by looking presentable at least. You look a rogue that I found sleeping on the streets to be honest, so…"

"You reap what you sow, Joana. Don't try to change me just because you feel like it." Qrow retorted as he grabbed a cask of whiskey from his breast pocket and downed it in one go. Joana frowned again, disapproving Qrow's actions greatly.

"How could your nieces stand you…"

"They love me as I am, sweety. I'm just that awesome." Qrow replied cockily.

"I doubt that." Joana deadpanned, her azure eyes narrowing into slits.

"You should see my girls first before jumping to conclusions, mama bear." Qrow countered with a confident smirk. Joana was about to retort, but the idea of meeting Qrow's nieces herself was not a bad idea in the slightest.

"Hm, come to think of it, I would love to see them one day…" Joana mused thoughtfully, wondering what they were like. She did not hear that much about them from Glynda except that they were the spark of Qrow's fondness for kids.

"Ohohoho, you will. Anyways, where's my room here?"

"...Room?" Joana asked as she looked at the Qrow confused.

"...you did prepare a room for me here, right?"

"..." Joana only responded with avid silence. Qrow's eyebrows furrowed.

"...You did not pay for a hotel?" Joana asked.

"If I did, I would be using Ozpin's money. He keeps track of my spending record, you know?" Joana was silenced at his excellent point.

"...well…"

* * *

Ten minutes later…

"Let me in!" Qrow started banging in on the door the moment Joana closed the door behind him. He was livid, absolutely betrayed by the woman that called for his aid.

"I can't let you corrupt my children with your filthy habits!" She loudly retorted, making Qrow stop his banging as he clicked his tongue.

"Alright, alright! I promise I won't drink in your house!" Qrow shouted back, deciding to make compromises.

"Qrow, if you want sanctuary, swear that you forsake alcohol for a week if you want a warm bed. That includes when outside my house, you drunk. And by the way, it is very **cold** here at night, you know?" Joana's sing-song voice echoed behind the door.

"Now you're just grudging against me, woman!" Qrow accused as he heard a muffled giggle behind the white door.

"You didn't say the magic word."

"Joaaaaannnnaaaaaa!" Qrow then banged the doors ceaselessly in desperate fury.

The last thing Jaune heard that night was a cry of a hobo… at least that's what he thought, before his sisters dragged him by the arms upstairs for further torment, leaving trails of tears along the way.

 ***Another note, I am having some trouble with the continental layout of the kingdoms. When I heard Vacuo, I thought it was also lush with forest and trees, but I was wrong. But a friend of mine told me I can add some rivers and trees into lands where rivers were abundant, creating a pseudoforest in a sense within the harsh arid desert of Vacuo. It might be awkward in a sense regarding location and geography, but let me know what you guys think. Should I change Jaune's family location to somewhere in Mistral? Or should I keep them in Vacuo (I placed them in Vacuo mainly because of how secure it is from the show)? Also, could any of you guess what I mean by 'bath'? It could be fun to guess as I plan to make it a trend later on XD**


	5. Chapter 4: The Drunk and The Queasy

The seven days since the drunkard started living with them was… interesting to say the least. The seven girls of the household pestered the crow at day one, questioning his attire, his hobbies, and most importantly, his validity as a professional huntsman which he confirmed with a simple, but irritated 'yes.' He then proceeded to demonstrate his authenticity by showing his weapon, which awestruck the girls since they rarely see other weapons other than the ones held by their household. Although, the son was not present when he was trying to impress the girls. He was outside training in secret at the time.

Thus, when he returned, however, he asked if the Huntsman lived in a garbage truck his whole life, earning bulging veins from Qrow in response. The sole son of the Arc Family kept complaining about Qrow's presence, nitpicking at his faults here and there, forcing a lot of mental stress in the unfortunate Qrow in the following days. Qrow, on the other hand, plotted multiple ways to smuggle in alcohol under Joana's nose. He could not stand a day without his precious alcohol ever since he promised to obey the mama bear's house rules.

However, to his abject dismay, the boy kept catching him smuggling in bottles of alcohol every time. He did not know how he kept managing to discover his crime. Every time he hid his precious treasure away from Joana's prying eyes, the boy always pointed out where he hid his alcohol, whether it was buried in his room, under the floor, out in the woods within reach, he always knew the location of his stash with uncanny accuracy. He did not know that the boy will keep an even closer eye on him than his mother, leaving him under significant alcohol withdrawal as he suffered the symptoms for the rest of the week.

When the day of departure had finally arrived, Qrow almost broke down into tears, finally free from his alcohol-less hell. The moment the clock hit twelve a.m. at midnight, he instantly took out his casket of whiskey and downed it all in one go. Unknown to him, Jaune was watching him from outside the room, very displeased at how the man treated the corrupting liquid as it was his lifeblood. He swore in his heart that he would erase that man of every alcohol he brought, even if it was the last thing he'd do for the sake of preventing another Rahm Kota incident from happening again. He will even bleed the man dry of alcohol in his blood if he must.

On the day of departure, Jaune was sad. He didn't want to leave his family, despite his sisters using him as part of their evil hobbies, but Joana insisted that he should resign, go outside and make some new friends and spread his wings a little. He also does not want to train under Qrow because of his unprofessional demeanor, but Joana insisted on trusting the 'rogue' for his abilities at least. Jaune reluctantly complied, now standing inside the lobby with his luggage already packed for him, carrying Croceas Mors inside the bag.

"Mom, I don't like him. He smells like the garbage truck that always comes to pick up our trash." Jaune complained as said 'garbage man' frown with displeasure.

"This 'garbage man' might throw you in the trash can if you keep this up," Qrow replied with sarcasm as Joana stifled a giggle. She was proud of her son already disliking Qrow at first sight.

"Now, now. It is not good to talk bad about others, even though Qrow does smell like he took a bath in excrement. Be polite, my little Jaune." Joana gently admonished with a false, scolding tone, not bothering to hide her distaste from Qrow.

"Hey." He complained in defense.

"But mom, are there any other teachers out there? Any better teachers? Cleaner ones?" Jaune asked again just in case, putting more emphasis on 'hygiene.' Qrow looked at him very displeased by his rude, repetitive remarks on his appearance.

"Kid, don't judge a book by its cover. I may look down to par, but I am one of the best of the best in my days. If you don't believe me, ask your mom." Qrow defended, as Jaune turned to his mother looking up to her eyes for confirmation. As a past Force User, he never had any skilled Jedi who possessed any noticeable skills while looking like… whatever Qrow was. Rahm Kota does not count as Galen was the one who took his eyes and nearly killed him.

"...Well, I admit he is skilled… unfortunately." Joana admitted. Jaune frowned even more as he sighed in consent.

"Fine… I'll go with the homeless man." Jaune conceded with great reluctance.

"Shrimp." Qrow quipped back. He turned his head away and nonchalantly whistled when Jaune looked up at him. Sensing the tension, Joana coughed aloud to catch their attention before the atmosphere combusts.

"Anyways, I packed everything you need on your journey. Mommy will miss you, sweetie. Please make sure to call home every day." Joana lowered herself to Jaune's eye level, wrapping her arms around Jaune's head as she hugged him tightly one last time.

"Stay safe," Joana said before letting him go.

"...okay," Jaune replied as he nodded with displayed resolve, making Joana smile upon seeing his determination.

"Come on, kid. We got a plane to catch, and the taxi driver won't wait for us forever, you know?" Qrow said as he pointed at the open door behind him, to the well-dressed senior man tapping his foot on the concrete street with impatience.

"Okay. Bye, mom. Tell my sisters I love them." Jaune said as Qrow grabbed his luggage's handle, dragging it to the taxi by the wheels. Jaune waved his hand goodbye as he followed him out the door, leaving his mother behind as he entered the cab.

"Hah… I hope he won't grow up too fast." Joana said as she smiled, wanting to cherish their time together before he becomes an adult.

On Jaune's side, he sat at the backseat of the car first, as Qrow dumped his luggage into the trunk, before riding shotgun next to the driver.

"Where to?" The driver asked.

"Oasis Airport, driver."

"Alright, strap up."

"No worries. I can afford it." Qrow said though he was using Joana's money instead for this. He could not use too much of his allowance, but Joana's an exception, in this case, meaning he could return to Patch much quicker than before.

"Alright, then. Fasten your seatbelt, my little friend. It will be a long ride." he said as he started the engine, pedaled the gas and the taxi took off, leaving dust and pollutants behind.

Jaune looked out the window, letting the outside scenery of his neighborhood fly past the corner of his eyes as his mind mired in deep thought. He reminisced the past seven days, rummaging through the course of events that lead to today.

It just happened all of a sudden a week ago. Jaune's mother suddenly announced that he was going with the man out to an island called Patch, to teach him the ways of the sword… he knew that his mother would catch onto his little outings, but this was not what he expected. He, at best, expected her to question him or something at least regarding his preternatural behavior at least.

The man, however, was not something he expected… he disliked him. He could not find a reason for his distaste besides the man's… demeanor, but there was something else behind his disapproval. The best lead he got was the man's Aura signature as it struck a chord in his memories… as if he met him before. But he cannot remember for the life of him.

As he mulled over his thoughts, his eyes started growing heavy, as if his eyelids were turning into lead. Drowsiness slowly overwhelmed his consciousness in his lulling boredom, the humming of the engine to the gentle vibration of the car amplifying his torpidity.

Staring at Jaune inconspicuously from the front mirror, Qrow watched as the boy slowly drifted to sleep. In his mind, his thoughts raced with options, possibilities on what the boy indeed was… and the actions to take accordingly depending on his discoveries.

* * *

Upon traveling with Qrow, Jaune stood at a line with the drunk crow... holding his hand. He grimaced not liking the act of even touching him, the grimace reminding Qrow of Joana's own when she complains about his 'stench of alcohol'.

The ride in the… airplane was something he could not adapt. It felt more… sickening… wait, that's just him. Jaune was experiencing his very first motion sickness in his new life. His complexion was an unhealthy green, his stomach rebelling against his entire being, and his 'caretaker' was grinning madly at him throughout the entire flight. Suffice to say… it was horrendous. Jaune had to use the Force to defeat his stomach's contents or else he will shame himself in front of the drunk, and himself.

He will not empty his stomach just from riding sitting on the plane! Especially after all the trials and hardships, he endured as Galen Marek, riding through space and time itself across the stars!

"Need a bag?"

The drunkard sitting next to him asked with a smug smile on his face, irritating the boy seated beside the window immensely.

"No. I'm fine, mister," Jaune swore that he would not let this man have the last laugh even if it was the last thing he'll do.

"You know, you can just call me Qrow, right? Or, Uncle Qrow?" Qrow nudged Jaune by the shoulder with his hand as he said that.

"I like Homeless Man better." Jaune retorted.

Qrow felt like chucking this kid out the window.

"I mean, you are a homeless man after all."

"Don't equate a professional huntsman as a homeless man, you little devil." Qrow warned as menacing as he could, but Jaune just went 'ehhh' with skepticism.

A silence dawned the room as they stood in their seats, now without anymore topics to converse upon. The only sound is the humming of the engines vibrating throughout the ship within the cloudy blue skies, along with the occasional suppressed retching of Jaune.

"So... Do I know you by any chance?" Tired of the silence and the motion sickness, Jaune asked since Qrow's Aura felt very familiar. He swore he met the man before. Why his mother had agreed to let the drunk take him, he would never know.

"No, we didn't. Why'd you asked, kid? You sure you didn't hear about me from your mom? About the 'Great Huntsman' and his epic journeys?" Qrow deflected his suspicion with a smile and his snarky attitude.

"No, but I do see her frowning at you from time to time. I think it is because of your overbearing stink." Jaune picked his words individually to test the man.

Qrow took note of his words, and his frown. He really was Joana's son after all.

"I see. Anyways, how are you feeling, kid?" Qrow asked, trying to befriend the boy.

"What do you think? I am now suffering from a rare case of motion sickness which I never knew I had, which is being stimulated by your stench." Jaune stabbed, earning more popped veins from Qrow. Their first conversation alone and the kid already knows how to get on his nerves.

"Don't mind my appearance, kid. I can go take a shower and do laundry if that'll make you happy." Qrow ignored his rudeness and went with the flow.

"Please, do. You look like a bacchanal that permanently nested in a tavern twenty-four seven." Jaune insisted. Qrow smiled as he left the room, only for the smile to turn into a frown.

'He really is a mini Glynda.' Qrow thought as he headed down the halls to inquire about their cleaning services during the trip.

After he left, Jaune sighed as he sat down on the white bed, pondering on Qrow's identity.

'Where did I meet him?' Jaune thought as he tried to come up with any memory of the man, but his face failed to pop up within his mind. He will have to continue pressing him until he knows, but until then he will play the unhappy child for now.

"I wish I could clean him with a good dose of Force Lightning…" Jaune mumbled, disliking the man already.

After a half hour later, Qrow returned to the room with a fresh set of plain clothes, white shirt, and gray trousers. Upon entering the room, he saw… Jaune sitting on the bed, meditating like a Buddhist monk. Only this time, he sensed something off about the air around the boy.

"Finally, you are clean of the stench." Jaune exhaled in relief as he opened his eyes and turned his head to Qrow.

"…Yeah, what were you doing though? Were you meditating?" Qrow asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"How do you know how to meditate? And why would you meditate?" Qrow asked unsure how to phrase his curiosities.

"To… relieve some stress. My sisters back home are quite hard to deal with, so I need something to relax." Jaune half lied. He wanted to relieve his distress whenever they dressed him up.

Qrow suddenly understood what he meant, remembering how his sisters would crossdress him.

"I see. Anyways, want to see something cool from good old Uncle Qrow?" Qrow asked as he stepped to his sword leaning on the wall next to his bed.

"Uncle Qrow? Really?" Jaune scoffed at the self-proclaimed title.

"Haha, yeah. I am a genuine uncle, you know? And these are my girls," He proudly introduced pulling out a small picture of two little girls. An energetic girl with long, golden flocks with brown gloves on her hands and the other with short, black hair, wearing a red riding hood around her. The latter looked quite cute for her age, Jaune admits. However, he suddenly widened his eyes upon realizing a shocking truth.

"Oh… oh god," Jaune started to compare him to his nieces.

"Don't tell me you infected them with alcohol?" Jaune demanded, testing the Uncle's decency. Another vein popped in Qrow's head for his rude accusation.

"No, I didn't, you cheeky brat."

"Oh, thank Oum. They're too cute to be corrupted by you." Jaune sighed in relief. The boy's offhand comment gave Qrow a forbidding feeling causing his inner protective instinct to flare up slightly.

'If this little brat thinks he's going to sully my precious nieces he's going to have to suffer,' his internal thoughts clashed with his actions.

"Ignoring that, please watch this," Qrow said as he picked up the sword.

Entertaining the drunkard, still, on the bed, Jaune leaned his elbow on his lap, watching the sword wondering what makes the detailed interesting, only to open his eyes in shock when the sword transformed into a scythe. He did not expect this. Not even the technology in his past life was this… creative.

"Whoa… you impressed me this time. I take back what I said about you being only useless drunk," Jaune praised as he clapped with genuine praise, although his choice of words also served to irk Qrow as well.

"Okay… do you at least believe me now about being a Great Huntsman?"

"Ditch the alcohol and I will. Otherwise, prove it to me with your skills." Jaune retorted.

"Oh really? Want to experience it personally, brat?"

Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"If you're going to demonstrate, I would suggest another time and place. Otherwise, you'll attract unwanted complaints should you mess up." Jaune raised a valid point.

Qrow then retracted the scythe back into its sword form.

"Fine, though I must ask… what do you do for fun?"

Jaune pondered on his question, going through his past activities.

"…" the air grew very awkward as he had no valid answer.

"…kid?" Now the crow grew very concerned for the boy.

"Wait…" Jaune halted for more time to think.

"…What'd you do in your spare time?" Qrow asked again hoping that he had some hobby instead of training like the one he saw Jaune perform or spending time with his family.

"...playing swordsman?" Jaune awkwardly lied. Qrow scoffed at his answer, knowing better on the subject of Jaune's extracurricular activities.

"Oh really? Would you like to play with this useful drunk, then?" Qrow wryly offered, smirking at the boy.

His offer, however, made him frown. His answer only made Jaune much more suspicious of him, his disbelief too apparent.

"What? Afraid to lose to this uncle, kid?" Qrow teased. He continued receiving Jaune's growing frown, making him sweat.

'Did I say something wrong?' Qrow thought afraid of his cover being blown.

"…Are you good?" Jaune asked, his words washing his worries away as he sighed in relief.

"Yeah, of course, I am. I graduated from Beacon you know?"

"What's Beacon?"

"…you're serious?" Qrow asked, caught off guard only to receive a nod in return. The boy proved to be very intelligent, so he thought he would have above average common sense as well… but he thought wrong.

"What do you know about the Grimm?"

"Grimm? Hmmm… what's a Grimm?"

'Oh my Oum, he's so sheltered. Is he really a child?' Qrow could not believe it.

At first, he thought that beneath the boy's skin was a demon or something, but now, he was not so sure.

'He needs some major education…'

"Alright, would you like to hear a story?" Qrow asked Jaune, the boy tilting his head in confusion before nodding, unsure about the subject.

"Alright, long ago…"

And that was the day when Jaune finally learned about the world in all its entirety.

 **Author's note.**

 **Yeah... long time. I finally got around to writing this fic again. Still need a capable co-writer for this though. Hard to find a capable one these days. As for the future of this story, I put a lot of thought and planning into this the moment I started it. I worked out how the story will flow, and I cannot wait until I finally catch up to the prominent scenes. I am also working on the other fics as well, a few of them in need of fresh, helpful minds to speed up quality and productivity. Anyways, see you all later.**


	6. Chapter 5: Colorful Introductions

The little faraway home in… Jaune forgot, but it was very isolated he admitted. Using Qrow as his convenient informant, the grey one strictly reminded him of their location. Now, they stood in Patch, a tranquil island ideal for raising a family or so the drunk said.

Now, Jaune stood in front of a log house in the deep corners of the woods with his luggage standing behind him as he took in the drunk's abode from roof to base. It was a very modest and familial home designed for a caring family despite being very primitive in origin compared to the architectures he witnessed in his previous life.

Design-wise, the structure was a modest cabin home built from logs, covered by a triangular prism roof of tiles, in the middle of the woods of fall, a warm, comforting haven amongst the untamed wilds.

"Here we are, Shrimp. Welcome to the home of your new playmates!"

Qrow dramatically presented, spreading his arms wide apart before the kid that kept calling him 'homeless man' was not impressed in the slightest. His ostentatious display did remind him of a character in one of the books his older sister hides from their mom.

However, that was not the case.

"You actually have a proper home?" What surprised Jaune more was the fact that he actually lived in a proper establishment.

The urge to sock the boy died in his attempt to maintain self-control.

"…yes. Yes, I do have a proper home you ungrateful little shrimp. And so much more that will shake your world."

"And what could you shake me with?" Jaune asked with a taunting smirk.

"Two words. Ruby and Yang," Qrow countered with a gloating smile.

"Who-hm?"

Before Jaune could retort, he was interrupted by the door suddenly burst open before a red blur exploded from the entrance.

"Uncle Qrow!" A bundle of petals and happiness crashed into the drunkard's chest with surprising velocity.

Another bundle, this time a yellow flare of energy and spirit, crashed into his legs, hugging him tightly with affection. The combined impact caused the drunkard to tumble to the ground.

"Uncle Qrow!"

His mom's friend, the self-titled "Great huntsmen," laid knocked down and dog-piled by a pair of little girls. Jaune wanted to question his ego and sanity with meticulous detail.

"Alright, alright. Get off me, you little squirts. Don't embarrass your uncle in front of the kid."

The uncle chuckled as the two still clung onto him like glue.

Tilting his head, Jaune scrutinized the two little girls.

The taller one of the two was a fair-skinned girl with lilac eyes and bright golden hear reaching down to her back. As for her spirit, sensed via the Force, her soul simmered, calm, yet fierce, a placated sun that could explode into a nova at any given time. The girl was outside in her sleeping attire; a light yellow cloth with cute brown bears in children drawing.

For the smaller one peeking from behind the homeless man was a girl around his age, bearing round silver eyes and short dark and red choppy neck-length hair, adorned with a simple red cloak that seemed a little large for someone her size. Overall, she was the epitome of innocence and youthful energy, someone that Jaune could consider as a child form of a puppy judging by how she shyly appraised him behind the cover of her uncle.

Peering into her spirit with the Force, Jaune sensed… a tranquil red dyed by the season of Fall while dotted by a tinge of silver, like a moon standing alone in a scarlet sky.

However…

'What is this feeling?' Jaune narrowed his eyes, his eyelids shifting slightly at the girl. Something about the girl felt… off. Her Aura, there was something else inside her that-

*Cough cough*

However, his thoughts were cut off due to Qrow's coughing.

"Girls, let me get up. I have someone I want you two to meet. Say hello to this blond pipsqueak called Jaune. Jaune, meet Ruby and Yang. Your new playmates."

The two girls both looked at the young boy that accompanied Qrow, slowly dismounting their uncle as they cautiously inched closer to the boy, inspecting him from head to toe with childish curiosity.

Ruby turned back to her most favorite uncle and asked, "Why'd you bring him here? Why does he have such a girly face? Why is he looking at me funny? Why's he wearing your color?" She fired off questions at such a rate that those listening were hard pressed to catch.

Yang chuckled as her little sister confounded Qrow and the young boy with her rapid paced and somewhat scatterbrained questions. Once sufficiently calmed, Qrow answer Ruby's childish curiosity.

"A friend of mine asked if I could set up a playdate for him. Between the three of you, I don't know. Maybe he's just girly. "

Qrow looked at the befuddled Jaune, noting the clothes he brought with him on his body. While not dressed like Qrow, his color scheme nearly mirrored his along with the hoodie.

The boy in question cast a glare at the alcoholic uncle for calling him 'girly,' one unnoticed by the two nieces.

"Well, Ruby, I think he has excellent taste," Qrow smirked, unfazed by Jaune's threatening glare.

After Qrow answered Ruby's question, Yang chose to chime in their place. However, a portent shiver tingled through both Qrow and Ruby's spines upon sensing a common but dreadful disturbance coming from the Goldilocks.

"My sister's the speed of the cheetah when she talks and a lifetime ban from the zoo!"

**Ugggggghhhh**

Audible groans cried from the dark-haired uncle and niece, obviously suffering under the puns.

"Heh."

"""!"""

However, something unbelievable happened there family heard a soft chuckle. The eyes of Ruby, Qrow and the blond punster were the sizes of dinner plates, two out of horror while one out of joy. Someone actually found Yang's puns funny.

Yang was the first to snap out of her stupor putting a small arm around Jaune's neck.

A corner-side grin curved on her face as she proudly yet innocently exclaimed, "I like him!"

*Thud*

Hearing a sudden, loud thud, they all turned to look back at the house, only to see an unconscious blond man lying face down on the dirt in front of the cabin's entrance.

"Not ready… she's still my little girl… all Qrow's fault."

Seeing this, Qrow stopped any possible panic by hurrying over to him, picking up the unconscious blond by the shoulder. The alcoholic addressed the pipsqueak who was the only one unacquainted with the unconscious man's dramatics.

"Jaune, listen here. They may be my girls, but that unconscious man is their father. So, yeah, don't be freaked."

However, Qrow would later realize that his choice in words would haunt him.

For the briefest moment, in a split second, Jaune's eyes widened out of shock from a terrifying realization.

'They are like the guys from the books Alessa hides from mom, Bend Back Hills.'

He decided to be polite and ask Qrow about it later. However, Qrow did not miss the quick shift in Jaune's features.

Recalling his only experience with the book, Jaune remembered his sister's most frighteningly perverse giggle he'd heard so far while absentmindedly reading a page aloud before cutting herself off, causing his face to grow ghastly white before he quickly walked back to his room to pretend that it never happened.

"Kids, let's go into the house. We have to wait till your dad wakes up so we can introduce the squirt."

Then, an evil grin made its way into Qrow's face he now had a chance to get back at the kid for the headaches he'd caused on their journey.

"Ruby, Yang while we wait why don't you show him your toys. You could dress up and play Huntsman."

"Huh?" Jaune looked at Qrow in disbelief. All he received in return were wriggling eyebrows and a wry smirk. He does not like that wry smirk.

"Ohhhh! Yang, let's play! Let's play!" Ruby jumped and pranced like a happy kangaroo all around Yang.

"Let's get our weapons!"

Yang grabbed Ruby by the sleeve and dragged her into the house while leaving a comet trail. Jaune only looked at them in confusion, slightly afraid of what they'll bring out of the house. A few minutes later, Ruby and Yang came back out, each of them dressed in their own choice of clothing. Ruby dressed in a signature red, black skirt dress with a rosy red cape hanging from her back. Yang wore a sleeveless tan jacket, one that left her stomach bare, black fingerless gloves, brown knee-high boots, and mini shorts.

Ruby was carrying what looks like…

"Uhhh…"

A scythe. She was holding a wooden model of a scythe.

Looking at Yang, Jaune saw her wearing yellow gauntlets on her arms. Looking closer, the material of the gauntlet seemed to be plastic. They were toys, fortunately.

"Is that a scythe?" Jaune asked as he looked back at small girl's weapons.

"Yep! I call her Crescent Rose! It might be a toy right now, but I'll make a real one when I go to Signal!" Ruby replied with a bright, innocent smile.

"And you?" Jaune asked pointing at her gauntlets.

"Ember Cecilia. What? You like?" Yang asked wriggling her eyebrows, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Jaune.

"Seems… normal compared with her scythe," Jaune replied as formal as he could.

"Is that a compliment made out of paper?"

Jaune raised another eyebrow at her words.

"Because it was 'TEARable'!" Yang then laughed at her own TEARable pun.

""Ugggghhhhh.""

Qrow and Ruby groaned in contempt. Jaune, on the other hand…

"Hah. Not bad. Came up with it yourself?" Jaune asked, approving her sense of humor with a smile.

""UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.""

Ruby and Qrow groaned even louder, their moans drawling out this time. If Jaune continued listening to those accursed puns, Jaune would contract Yang's bad pun disease. They cannot afford another afflicted on this planet.

"Yep!" Yang huffed her small child chest, exuding her gloating heart.

"Hahaha, nice. I am not a Punster myself, but I think I can manage in time."

Jaune then felt Yang's arms wrapped around his waist.

"Ohhhh, thank you thank you thank you! You've no idea how long I've wanted someone besides dad who enjoys my puns!"

Jaune, however, felt like being hugged by a small bear than by a girl, struggling to keep the air in his lungs.

'Uggh... Strong!'

He felt as if a baby Rancor strangling him, trying to squeeze the life out of his tiny body.

"Ahem!" Ruby interrupted before Yang infects Jaune with her bad pun disease. Two was enough the world could handle.

"Ummm, did you bring in your weapon?" Ruby asked wanting to change the subject before he converts to the Yang side.

*Cough*

Coughing a little, the boy gently pushed Yang's away for breathing space without insinuating any sign of rudeness.

"Y-Yes, though it is a gift from my Grandfather. I-It's in the luggage… though I don't think I can use a real sword here." Jaune replied while gasping for air.

"Ohhh, what else does it do?" Ruby asked, scrying for additional functions with burning curiosity.

"Ack, cough, excuse me. Not much. I am a fan of the classics. I do plan to make my own sword one day though."

Jaune's answer caused Ruby's eyes to light up with ideas on how to help her new friend.

"Oh. Well, not many appreciate the classics these days, hahaha…" Ruby awkwardly replied as ideas bubbled through her head. Thoughts of gun attachments or a chain sword swirled within her over-energetic mind; each idea was more outlandish than the last.

"Oh yeah! How good you are at playing Huntsman and Huntresses?!" Ruby asked with sparkling eyes. Jaune laughed a little at her question. Darth Vader raised him in his past life, a terrible, broken man capable of spreading death and genocide with his own hands. From what Qrow told him, Jaune summarized Hunters were nothing but glorified law enforcement, but he cannot deny their worth in society. Kind of like the Jedi in comparison. He wondered if there was a Remnant version of a Sith here.

"Well, depends… I've never played with anyone my age before. I have sisters, but they have… other interests."

Jaune refused to speak about the horrors he endured. He does not want to risk them contracting force-Jaune-to-crossdress-disease.

"Awww, really? Well, come with me! I'll gladly show the ropes!" Ruby shot off in a burst of speed as she grabbed Jaune's hand and dragged him inside the house, rushing to the living room while Yang shouted 'Wait for me!' and followed them in pursuit.

Upon entering the living room, Jaune saw Qrow… caring for TaiYang who was laying on the couch. The boy grimaced with an evident frown, not liking the meaning behind his actions. Their interactions were all too similar to the contents of those debauching novels.

"I heard your conversation, shrimp. Let me get the wooden sword for you. Better than nothing if you're gonna play."

Qrow informed before casually walking out of the room. Jaune didn't miss the flash of whiskey glass under his vest.

"Ohh! Me first!" Yang shouted as she ran up to Jaune, her arms raised ready for combat. Her excitement was infectious, as she prepared to spar against this new kid.

Jaune smiled in response to her youthful vigor. He wondered how skilled they are in combat… though considering they were children, they will lack even the basics. He decided to have fun with them.

Five minutes later after Qrow gave him a wooden stick…

"You're so unfair!" Yang complained as she tried to hit Jaune again and again, only for him to dodge, deflect, and gently hit her back at her openings.

The boy even placed one hand behind his back, using only his left, while casually dancing around Yang like an adult playing with a toddler. A toddler that really wanted to sock Jaune's face.

"Left side."

Jaune hit her left shoulder with his wooden sword.

"Nnnnn!" Yang's cheeks slowly reddened with anger. She looked cute from Jaune's perspective.

The yellow bear had so many openings, but Jaune noted both her strength and stamina covered that shortcoming. Yang still maintained her assault despite wasting so much stamina with her broad movements.

"Your footwork needs work. Your attacks are too direct. You must integrate unorthodox tactics in your style. Don't just charge in head first." Jaune informed, nearly abandoning his mask of a child, as he gently thwacked the girl's blond head.

"Graahhh! Let me wipe that smirk off with my fist!"

That mocking thwack only made her try harder. On the side, Ruby giggled at sister, even louder when Jaune thwacked her head again at the same spot after Yang threw another blind punch.

"Ruby! Don't just stand there! Help me!" Yang cried out with pouting cheeks at Jaune's smirk.

"Really? Two on one seems unfair though."

Ruby only smiled sheepishly at her sister.

While he was toying with the girls, Qrow and Taiyang stood far in the room entrance, their eyes locked onto Jaune's figure as he played with the elder sister.

"For a 'demon,' I got to say I expected something more… demonic. Are you sure you got this wrong?" Taiyang asked, smiling a little when Ruby joined in, only for Jaune to bonk her with his wooden sword as well.

"Really?" Qrow blandly pointed at Jaune now skipping back while parrying the sisters' assault with… expert grace, while maintaining the distance between them. Too graceful, no wasted movement in each step.

"...alright, he seemed to be… good."

"Too good."

Jaune disarmed Ruby, sliding the tip of his sword across the staff of the scythe until it smacked her fingers. The next second he coiled around her scythe and knocked it out of her hands, the weapon landing into Jaune's open right.

Then he bonked Yang again with the blunt end of his stolen scythe.

"Stop cheating!" Yang covered her head with pouting indignation.

"Gimme back my scythe!" Ruby demanded with puppy eyes fired at Jaune.

Jaune, in response, only chuckled at their adorable complaints to the somewhat unfair situation they're facing.

"…Okay, I won't deny that."

"Now you see why I need you to keep an eye on him in case I'm not around. This shrimp is something else. I want to confirm what he is before making a rash judgment. So, you game?"

Before Taiyang could reply, he caught the sight of Jaune booping both of Ruby's and Yang's noses with his fingers when their guards were down.

""Jaune!""

The two girls covered their noses, pouting in displeasure at the smiling boy's bullying.

"What? You're both wide open."

Taiyang did not miss the blushes. A vein nearly popped from the rising anger alone as his overprotective instincts replaced his remaining capacity for reason.

"I'm in."

He refused to permit any further corruption than this. He shall protect his girls from the dangers of the opposite sex.

* * *

"You are such a jerk!"

"Meanie!"

Ruby pounded her fists onto Jaune's chest with less than minimal force to effectively hurt even his skin while Yang, however, wrapped one arm around his neck from behind and gave him a noogie from with the other, drilling her knuckle into Jaune's head.

The boy, on the other hand, continued smiling as he tanked all of their frustrations, finding their reactions very befitting to his image of children, at least at his age.

Remembering this, Jaune reminisced his past as Galen, recalling his past childhood. Unlike the cold, torturous years under Vader, this one was more lighthearted and… warm. The sense of solitude dissipated in this very moment as he bathed in the experience without resistance.

Although it would've been ideal if it wasn't for… the father searing a burning glare directly at his skull. His anger was as tangible as the blazing sun on a hot summer day, at least to Jaune since he can sense his emotions more palpably with the eyes of the Force.

Jaune did not know why the man was hostile. He cannot understand the man known as Taiyang.

After the girls were finished venting their frustrations on him, the three started playing video games using the girls' console. The boy… never knew how to play, but he's a quick study.

Although, that did not protect him from several losses to Ruby, and subsequently Yang, in their first plethora of rounds.

After the girls had their fill of vengeance, they proceeded to eat lunch at the dining table. The food was slightly lesser than what his dad brought, but still acceptable. The girls' eating pace was quite…

The sisters ate their meals in gulps, never wasting time to even chew, their lack of etiquette unbefitting to their gender to Jaune's opinion. The sisters ate like hungry dogs to Jaune's eyes.

Once they sated their pangs of hunger, the girls started dragging Jaune around, giving them a tour of their home.

Ruby introduced him to the forest, one reminding Jaune of the natural woods behind his home but with fewer trees and leaves.

Yang introduced him to their room, but Taiyang forbade the youngling from even setting foot with indirect excuses to take over from here.

The girls whined for a little while, but the mention of their beloved uncle giving them a surprise present was enough to deter them into a sprint towards the hobo drinking outside.

Once they were gone, Taiyang decided to take Jaune to his room.

The room possessed ample space, a large bed adjacent to a wall at the opposite end of the entrance with a double-hung window above it. A dresser laid at the left, a bathroom at the right, the room accommodated all the basic needs of the inhabitant.

"Did someone live here before?" Jaune asked.

There was a father, an uncle, but no mother. Jaune assumed that the father either had a proper spouse before, adopted the girls, or…

Jaune shuddered silently to himself, not wanting even to consider the possibility of the third biologically impossible probability.

"Yeah. Used to be my wife's."

Jaune sensed… a feeling of loss and sadness coming from Taiyang.

"...what was she like?"

Jaune asked, just in case.

"...she's one of the kindest women I've ever met. And courageous."

Taiyang softly smiled, one filled with nostalgic silence.

"You don't have to talk about it if you want," Jaune suggested.

"No, no. It's… alright. So, what do you think of our home?" Taiyang asked as Jaune pulled in his wheeled luggage by the handle into the room.

"Quite… how should I say this? Remote. Kinda like my place but much farther from civilization."

"Is our place better?"

That was the question Taiyang wanted to know.

"Smaller though, but much more… peaceful… hey, I have a question."

Slowly, Jaune rolled his luggage next to his bed, then turned around to face the father. The eyes the boy gave out was one of mistrust and suspicion.

"...what's your relationship with the homeless drunk?"

"Qrow? He's just a washed up brother-in-law that helps out raising the girls. Whatcha mean?"

"...are you in 'that' kind of a relationship with him?

Taiyang's face remained impassive, unchanging.

"What?"

"Are you in… one of those same-sex relationships my sisters fawn over?"

It now clicked within Taiyang's mind. How he and Qrow shared the same home and raised the same girls.

"No, no! No no no no no no no no no! We are **not** an item!?" Taiyang stepped back, waving his arms back and forth in denial against such a claim.

"..."

The boy just narrowed his eyes, utterly unconvinced by the man's refusal.

"Don't look at me like that! Wait, how do you know such sensitive materials?! You're like, six or something!"

"My sisters. They have a wide spectrum of… interests."

'What the hell?'

Taiyang questioned the moral integrity of Jaune's family members.

"They don't even care if their little brother is around too. Anyways, just… please don't do anything when I'm around."

Taiyang couldn't believe the insinuations behind his request.

"I keep telling you; I'm straight! Stop looking at me like that!"

He pleaded when Jaune gave him 'the eyes,' one looking at another as if disappointed in another's dignity as a male.

"...just go."

Jaune finished the conversation by giving him his back as he started unpacking his luggage, unzipping the suitcase.

Wordlessly, Taiyang complied, relieved to leave Jaune's room before the atmosphere turned even more awkward. But as he went, he saw Qrow leaning back on the wall. Although, his eyes shared Taiyang's agitation and shock.

"...I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that conversation," Qrow turned his head away, not wanting to delve deeper into the subject.

"...good idea."

The father shared his sentiments. Little did they know, that first impression marked the reincarnated child forever, a black spot for the boy to carry and abuse in the future.

"...you spying?" Taiyang pointed at the Scroll the drunk was holding.

"Oh yeah. Wanna see?"

Meanwhile…

"...what a weird family," Jaune scoffed at he stopped unpacking his things.

Looking around the room, Jaune scanned the interior with scrutiny; his eyes sharpened and acute.

When entered the room, Jaune sensed a familiar resonance within. An object of the Force could never be unmistakable. One that he longed to find ever since arriving in this world but never expected to encounter this early on in life.

He moved from his spot, now scrounging the cabin-themed room for the object, opening drawers from dressers and opening cabinet doors.

However, despite being vigilant of the new faces, the boy was unaware of the cameras installed in the room far from his reach, with microphones to boot for a crisper audio reception.

The scroll contained many Live camera windows, each window connected to an individual camera engaged in multiple areas around the household, cameras that Jaune must spend a great deal of time and effort even to find.

Watching from his Scroll, Qrow stared at the screen, focusing on the only camera with the kid in its sights, as he watched Jaune scour the room like a raccoon rummaging through the trash for food.

Peeking from the side, Taiyang watched as Jaune dug into the closet embedded in the wall, sifting through the various miscellaneous objects that…

"Oh, that little!" Taiyang furiously gnashed his teeth, angry that Jaune desecrated the memories of his late wife.

But before he could storm off and confront the kid, Qrow grabbed his shoulder holding him in place.

"Hold on…"

In the screen, Jaune took out a specific white rectangular case half the size of a basketball with the emblem of a rose on the latch. Qrow remembered that case. That was the case where…

The boy furtively perused his surroundings first before continuing, then waved his hands in front of the latch. Qrow knew it was locked and cannot unlock by conventional means. Forged from Lunarium, the durable metal could repel any heavily forced entry. Any more could destroy the contents inside.

However, despite not having a key, the boy managed to open the lock, lifting the lid as he stared at the now vulnerable contents within.

"Could he be…"

 ***Yeah, I could've posted this earlier. But I was kinda busy with things. Anyways, thanks to X3runner for helping me write. He is an awesome editor, his ideas and synergy with the RWBY cast are much more clear and concise than mine in some cases. As for the other stories, need a Co-Writer for Ben 10: Banished Hero still. The previous author and I wrote a lot of scenes in that story, placing too much work in that to abandon. Also, maybe one for UNSC Ga Kill! as well since that co-writer kinda died on me. Especially one at Fist of the Hero God. Anyways, see you next time.**

 **Also, sorry if your update notice popped up. I didn't post chapter 6, I deleted the delay notice from the chapter index. Apologies for the misinformation.**


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